Singaporean kitefoiler and Olympics bronze medallist Max Maeder has been crowned champion at the 2024 Formula Kite Asian Championships in Daishan, China on Sep. 22.

Maeder, 17, clinched gold in the kitefoiling championship after he won eight out of 12 races in the opening series.

He has now won a second straight title since Paris Olympics, after claiming the KiteFoil World Series Austria title in Traunsee on Sep. 8.

Ranked top in opening series

According to a Facebook post by the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) on Sep. 22, Maeder placed first in the final ranking in the championship's opening series.

He had won eight out of 12 races, squaring off against China's Zhang Haoran in second place.

The subsequent races were cut short due to weather conditions brought about by a typhoon in the area, according to IKA.

The weather was marked by "high waves and strong currents" affecting the race participants, and the competition could not go on.

Maeder was automatically declared champion based on his results in the opening series.

He had previously placed second in 2023 and won the championship in 2022.

Maeder praised his Chinese rivals, saying that they are "really good", "fearless", and "definitely have guts".

When asked about the weather conditions, Maeder said: "We are a sport in nature, it's okay to have some drizzle. We are wet anyway."

In August 2024, Maeder clinched bronze in the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Marseille Marina races, becoming Singapore's youngest Olympic medallist.

Top photos via SingaporeSailing & Daniel Leow/Facebook