Max Maeder: Two-time World Champion going for Olympic gold

The 17-year-old Formula Kite sensation defended his world title crown in Hyeres, mere miles from where he is tasked with a maiden Olympic voyage this summer.

A keen chess player and a Rubix cube solver, Maeder thrives on a challenge and in his early life so far has rarely faltered on the biggest of stages.

The world’s youngest world champion in any Olympic sailing classification is aware he has followed a path few have trodden on as a teenager and would not change his lifestyle for the world.

Kite foiling origins

Maeder was born in Singapore but also grew up between Switzerland and Wakatobi, a conservation resort in Indonesia founded by Maeder’s marine biologist uncle and run by his family.

The eldest of three siblings, Maeder knows more than most the importance of identity, rarely staying in one place during his childhood for more than three years.

The youngster’s Swiss father had tried kitesurfing recreationally and decided to put his son Max on a board at the age of six.

Kitesurfing quickly turned into a regular pastime but there were no expectations, at least until Maeder got a taste for kite foil racing by the age of 10.

“You base your identity not on where you’re from or what type of things you do, it’s more about who you are and what you do and who you associate with,” he said.

“The encouragement of my parents to say you’re allowed to dream and you’re allowed to set high goals and chase them earnestly and not let anything hold you back was a big proponent.”

A winning mentality

With a natural affinity for competitive racing, it was not long before Maeder became a prominent name on the youth circuit.

A Youth Sailing World Championship title followed a 2021 Formula Kite Youth World Championships crown and a career that looked promising quickly reached bourgeoning levels.

In 2022, at his second appearance at the Formula Kite World Championships, he finished runner-up to Slovenia’s Toni Vodisek.

And the home-schooled prodigy, not yet at his performance peak, has already defended a senior World Championships title this year.

“I see every competition internally as a fresh clean slate,” he said. “Everyone has the opportunity to prove themselves again and that means that you don’t carry any sort of luggage from the last event or previous races.

“I’m not so concerned what I’ve done before, more so, about what the next step is and what the next race is going to entail.

“That means all of the other things are left aside for the moment and it’s about the next race right in front of you.”

Keep your friends close

Maeder trains with Croatian Martin Dolenc and his father Jonny Dolenc has been key to taking the pair to the loftiest of Formula Kite heights.

He said: “It’s one of the pillars and basis of how I can continue to do this at such a level, it allows me to stay on top of training properly and it allows me to develop skills and techniques.

One of kite foiling golden boy Maeder’s closest rivals is Vodisek. The pair have been photographed playing chess together at May’s Formula Kite World Championships, a poignant metaphor for their duels on the water.

“I believe it has helped a lot,” Maeder said. “It’s a very healthy rivalry and I hear that he sees it the same way.

“There are many great candidates and I hope I’m one of them for other people where we help push each other and get the best out of each other.”

Wisdom beyond years

Whether it is opening with the Vienna gambit for white or the variation of the Paris defence with black, Maeder’s wisdom stretches beyond his intellectual capabilities on the chess board.

Spending a sizable chunk of his life on Wakatobi saw him mature through osmosis, growing up around more adults than children his age as his family ran the UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve paradise.

At 17, there does not seem to be a coming-of-age narrative within Maeder’s story, naturally progressing to dizzying kite foiling heights in his early life has always been a prerequisite to his senior career and life.

“You’re spoilt by the fact that no other calibre of coral reef that you find at present is as world-class a standard,” he said on Wakatobi.

“In the resort, there weren’t too many kids around. We mainly had adults to chat with and learn about and to interact with.

“My parents raised me to be a little bit more independent and they were comfortable with me travelling alone.

“I had a little bit of a head start in terms of living life in a more mature way, I feel grateful more than feeling like I missed out on anything.”