Sawt Falasteen - Teen kitefoiler Maeder ready to soar at Paris Games

Maeder is already a double world champion in the sport, which sees competitors streak across the ocean on boards pulled by giant kites that can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometres per hour).

The son of a Swiss father and a Singaporean mother, Maeder has spent parts of his life in Switzerland, Indonesia, Croatia and Singapore, and speaks several languages.

He is the world's top-ranked kitefoiler despite his tender years, and he is determined to win gold in his sport's Olympic debut.

"It is important to me that I come and give my best consistently," Maeder told Singaporean newspaper the Straits Times last month.

"There is a condition attached to it -- that it should be better than my best that I gave last time.

"And while winning is fine, I absolutely despise losing," he added.

Maeder learned to kitesurf at the age of six at the hotel and scuba diving centre that his family ran in Indonesia.

He was schooled at home, giving him the time to train alongside his education.

Maeder said his kitefoiling career had been helped by the fact that he "didn't have a traditional upbringing".

"My parents had the courage to let me learn at home," he said.

"But my father had no intention of letting me tan on the beach. He told me: 'If you want to do this sport professionally... you are going to have to learn and educate yourself'."

Maeder has been independent from an early age and he began taking trips to Croatia, where he started training with one of his main rivals, Martin Dolenc.

- Need for speed -

It helped him hone his skills in the adrenaline-fuelled sport, which is said to be the fastest in the Olympics.

The event will see 20 racers all jostling their way around the course, using their skills to master the wind and find the fastest line.

Their boards are equipped with hydrofoils that make them look like they are flying over the water.

The sailing events at the Paris Games take place in the southern city of Marseille.

Maeder's rivals for the inaugural men's kite gold include Dolenc, Italy's Riccardo Pianosi and Cyprus's Denis Taradin.

Maeder knows he does not have much room for error in such a fast and furious sport.

"I'm not that far ahead of the others, if at all," said Maeder, who won gold at last year's Asian Games.

"At least I don't think so. It's very close, they're right there. I just need to make one tiny mistake and they will be there."

Swimmer Joseph Schooling remains the only Olympic gold-medallist in Singapore's history, beating Michael Phelps at the 2016 Rio Games.

Maeder -- a keen chess player who is always thinking about strategy -- will hope to join him in France.

"You have the capability, as do others, to prove yourself as the best athlete or the fastest at the moment," he told the Straits Times.

"And as challenging as it may be, the potential lies there and it's up to you to realise it."

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST