Max Maeder wins 2024 Formula Kite Asian Championships after winning 8 of 12 races
Just 1.5 months after winning an Olympic bronze medal, Singaporean Max Maeder has already won his second title.
He has come out tops at the 2024 Formula Kite Asian Championships.
Source: International Kiteboarding Association on Facebook
Max Maeder wins Asian Championships without needing final race
In an Instagram post on Sunday (22 Sept), the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) announced that Maeder had won gold in the championships held in Daishan, China that day.
This came after he won eight out of 12 races in the opening series, leaving him top of the table, said Singapore Sailing.
Source: Singapore Sailing on Facebook
He needed only one win at the final race to clinch the title — but eventually didn’t even need that as the winds were too strong for racing on Sunday.
This meant that Maeder snagged the win ahead of China’s Haoran Zhang and Jiangang Wu, who took second and third respectively.
Source: International Kiteboarding Association on Instagram
In last year’s championships, he finished second.
Max Maeder praises Asian Championships competitors
After his win, Maeder remained humble, according to IKA. He praised his competitors by saying they were “really good and fearless”, adding:
They definitely have guts; they push so hard, I am impressed they don’t crash. I think that if they join us overseas and train with us, they will be a very formidable force.
The opening series was cut short due to a typhoon hitting the region, with the first day of racing also marked by high waves and strong currents.
Maeder, however, was undeterred, saying of the drizzle:
We are a sport in nature, it’s OK to have some drizzle, we are wet anyway.
He also won Austrian leg of KiteFoil World Series
Earlier this month, Maeder won the Austrian leg of the KiteFoil World Series days before he turned 18.
He achieved this after winning all six of his heats, giving him a commanding lead over his rivals, and then taking the title in his first medal series race.
That was his first title after the Olympics, meaning the Asian Championships is his second.
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Featured image adapted from International Kiteboarding Association on Instagram and Singapore Sailing on Facebook.
