‘Feels like 2 years,’ says Max Maeder after winning European youth title to wrap up 2024 season
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Max Maeder powering his way to the men's title at the Formula Kite Youth European Championships in Italy on Oct 13.
PHOTO: IKA/ROBERT HAJDUK
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SINGAPORE – A gruelling season for Maximilian Maeder ended on another winning note, when the Singaporean claimed the Formula Kite European youth title on Oct 13.
The 18-year-old, who had earlier bagged eight titles and an Olympic bronze,
Maeder had entered the final day of the Oct 7-13 Youth European Championships in Torregrande, Italy, in first place, winning eight out of his 13 races, with Pianosi joining him in the final.
Stragiotti and Brazil’s Lucas Fonseca later took the remaining two slots in the final after finishing in the top two in the semi-finals.
As the top qualifier, Maeder entered the first-to-three-wins final with two match points, needing just one more to seal the title. And he wasted no time with a victory in the first race to collect his fourth consecutive title since the Paris Olympics in August.
The women’s event was won by France’s Lysa Caval, while Turkey’s Derin Atakan and Poland’s Magdalena Woyciechowska finished second and third respectively.
On his ninth win this season, Maeder said: “It was a very clean wrap up to the season, some good execution from the races, so I’m very happy right now.
“This season feels like two seasons, at least. I mean, it felt like two years had passed in this one single year that I’ve experienced so far. So much has happened, so many events, so many things.”
Among the things that touched the teenager was the “very sweet” effort of his aunt, who built an Excel spreadsheet of his results this year to serve as a reminder of his achievements.
When asked to rate his year, Maeder said: “I can’t really pick out many lows. Highs, I would say, are definitely the European championships and the world championships. Those are always staple events of the year, the big ones that normally are the most competitive as well, and those went so smoothly and so cleanly, and they were well executed.
“And, of course, how could one forget the Olympics? But the Olympics for me, is a little bit of a special category. Everything that went around it, what came out of it, and the result of it, that I am phenomenally happy about.
“How I feel about my racing specifically? I would say that I could see the most potential for improvement, apart from the fact that the Olympics are very tough.”
After clinching bronze at the Paris Games, he won the Austrian leg of the World Series on Sept 8, the Asian championships on Sept 22 and the World Series overall title in Cagliari, Italy on Oct 5.
His 2024 season began in February when he won the International Open Cup, followed by the European championships in March, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia and the Qualified Nations Regatta at the French Olympic Week in April, and the world championships in May.
While the Torregrande event may be his last of the year, Maeder has a training camp in late November before he heads into the off-season. And he will also be “starting on the process” of getting his driving licence, having turned 18 in September.
But for now, Maeder is looking forward to the break before his next competition – the World Series in Abu Dhabi in February.
He said: “A little bit of a break, I guess maybe at the end of the year. I enjoy what I do, and there’s lots more planned for the year, and perhaps it’s time to focus on something else outside of my sport.”
