Commentary: The untold story behind Max Maeder’s Olympic medal - former national sailor Ben Tan gives an insider's view

MARSEILLE: In 2018, a close friend of the Maeder family and a fellow kiteboarder alerted me to a wonderkid on the professional kite racing circuit.

“Ben, you know Max Maeder? You have to meet him,” the friend said.

The following year in August I headed to Wakatobi, an island off Sulawesi, to “check out” this kid. It’s a remote island accessible only through twice-weekly charter flights from Bali, and a great place for diving and kiting.

There, I was introduced to a 12-year-old Max, a well-dressed, articulate and earnest-looking boy.

The way he handled an oversized kite and foil board with plain ease was impressive to say the least. Further conversations with Max and his parents, Valentin and Hwee Keng, as well as my observations of Max’s training ethic and approach to life convinced me that I had stumbled upon someone special.

How does one become a kitefoiler?

You start by learning how to kiteboard. A background in sailing, surfing or wakeboarding would be useful but not essential. The first component is launching, steering and landing the kite. The second is getting up on the kiteboard (a flat board with small fins at both ends) and staying on top of it.

Most would be up and riding within five days. Then, with lots of water time, one gets comfortable enough to start learning tricks like riding toe-side and jumps. Perhaps a year or more later, you’re ready to transition to a foil board.

In kitefoiling, the hydrofoil beneath the board generates lift to elevate the board above the water, greatly reducing drag and increasing speed. The powerful foil kites and low drag hydrofoils allow riders to fly over the surface of the water at speeds faster than the wind, sometimes exceeding 40 knots (75 kmh).

Controlling the height of the board