Paris Olympics: Formula 1 meets chess for Singapore’s Max Maeder in quest for kite medal
- The 17-year-old world champion says ‘a lot can happen’ in the fast and furious sport, which is labelled ‘the fastest sport of the Games’.
Driving a racing car while playing chess is how Singapore’s Max Maeder sums up “flying” on a foiling kiteboard at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour in Olympic sailing’s newest event.
The sport’s 17-year-old world champion hopes he is “among the people who would more likely make it into the medal series than not” given his recent performances, but cautions “a lot can happen” in the fast and furious Formula Kite.
“I don’t see the couple of events as putting on pressure, but more as proof of concept,” he said in Marseille, where the kites are billed as the fastest sport of the Games.
“I’m competing for Singapore, which is so wonderfully supportive of their athletes. They want to build a sporting culture and you feel that,” said Maeder, whose mother is from Singapore, where he was born, and whose father is Swiss.
Foiling carries risks, said Maeder, but there have not been many “major incidents” among kiters, who wear helmets and goggles as part of their kit and try hard to avoid crashes.
“If I had been skateboarding for the amount of time I have been kiting I would probably have injured myself more,” said Maeder, a confident speaker who picks his words carefully.
