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ON SINGAPORE’S National Day, kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder delivered a birthday gift for the nation as he put the “little red dot” on the map by clinching a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

The 17-year-old’s medal is just Singapore’s sixth at the Olympics. Maeder’s podium finish in the men’s formula kite at the Olympics on Aug 9 is no surprise given his track record in recent years. In 2024, he swept every trophy on offer, including retaining his world championship title.

But the 17-year-old faced a slightly harder path to a medal than in any of his other events this season.

Light winds at the Marseille Marina made the regatta challenging, with many hours spent on shore as the sailors waited for the wind to pick up. Of the 16 races that were scheduled in the opening series, only seven took place.

It was a volatile leaderboard over the first four days of racing, with the standings in flux as riders tried to navigate the conditions.

Slovenia’s Toni Vodisek led after the first day as Maeder finished third before the latter rose to the top of the standings the day after. But the former reclaimed his lead after the third of racing, with Maeder slipping to second, and the standings remained the same on Aug 7 with the lack of wind resulting in the cancellation of all races on the last day of the opening series.

Vodisek, 24, had the upperhand going into the final as he earned two match points by virtue of being the top qualifier from the opening series, needing just one race win in the final to clinch gold. Maeder, who carried over one match point, needed two wins to claim the title.

But a late twist saw Vodisek handed two penalties resulting in 1.1 points being deducted before the start of the final on Aug 9.

With Austria’s Valentin Bontus winning both races on Aug 9, the 23-year-old claimed gold ahead of his rivals at the Marseille Marina, with Vodisek and Maeder settling for the silver and bronze respectively.

“I don’t think I have enough time to express my gratitude for how much positivity has been thrown my way,” said Maeder. More tears than words were exchanged with his mother, said Max, when he returned to shore after his race ended.

He also thanked his technician and co-pilot Daniel Leow: “He’s been a key support to my entire journey here, and I couldn’t have gotten here without him.”

When asked about his future plans, Maeder replied: “To continue doing what I enjoy and continue bringing this wonderful experience to all the people who support and follow me.”

Path to Olympic success

Maeder’s journey to clinching an Olympic medal started more than a decade ago.

His competitive streak was evident from a young age – Maeder whose father Valentin is Swiss and mother Hwee Keng is Singaporean – was already competing in ski races when he was four and did not like to lose.

But soon, another sport would capture his attention. He was introduced to kiteboarding by his father when he was six and transitioned to kitefoiling four years later.

Maeder then started doing the sport competitively the following year and at 11, he declared his ambition to become a world champion, a goal he first achieved in 2023 before he claimed his second consecutive world title in May.

He won the first of three world youth championship titles when he was 14 and along the way also picked up three European Championships titles, as well as the Asian Games gold in 2023.

The precocious teenager now has a coveted Olympic medal in an already impressive resume, joining a select group of Singaporeans medallists at the quadrennial Games.

For years, weightlifter Tan Howe Liang’s silver from Rome 1960 was the Republic’s sole Olympic medal.

The women’s table tennis team of Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu then clinched a silver at Beijing 2008 before bagging a bronze at London 2012, where Feng also won an individual bronze.

Four years later, Joseph Schooling snagged the country’s historic gold in Rio de Janeiro. THE STRAITS TIMES