Max Maeder absolute champion of the 52nd Princess Sofia Iberostar Trophy
The young Singaporean Max Maeder has been proclaimed absolute champion of the 52nd Princess Sofia Iberostar Trophy in the new Olympic class Formula Kite. At just 16 years of age, Maeder demonstrated an impressive level of racing skill, taking ten partial wins in 17 races and becoming the second Asian athlete to win the Princess Sofia Trophy.
Despite their impressive performance, the Spanish Olympic qualifiers were not so lucky in the competition. Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman obtained bronze in the 470 and were the only Spaniards on the podium of the great Mallorcan regatta. This result was a blow for the Spanish team, which, one year after the Paris Games, still does not have an Olympic team with guarantees of success.
The Princess Sofia Trophy is the first qualifying event for the Sailing World Cup 2023 and serves as an important qualifying tournament for the upcoming Olympic Games. The competition brought together almost 1,300 sailors from 66 countries distributed over eight regatta fields, and the final day only brought together the top hundred of each of the ten Olympic classes to reveal the identity of the champions.
Results Formula Kite Men
In Formula Kite Men, the final victory went to Max Maeder. At 16 years of age, the Singaporean also won the absolute champion title of the 52nd Princesa Sofía Mallorca Trophy by Iberostar thanks to an impressive scoreboard that closed with ten partial wins in 17 rounds, including the last one. Second finished the British Connor Bainbridge and third the French Axel Mazella. And to find the first Spanish kiter we have to go to position 27 where you will find Cortes.
Results in Formula Kite Women
In Formula Kite Women, Frenchwoman Lauriane Nolot put in an impressive performance, taking her eighth partial victory of the week and crowning herself class champion in the 52nd Princess Sofia Trophy. The British Ellie Aldridge and the French Poema Newland completed the podium of the women's kite flying fleet. To get to see the first Spanish classified you have to go to position 11 where we have Pulido, surely we can improve in the next rounds. Cheer up!
As we approach the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, it is increasingly important for national teams to secure their place in the competition. Although the Spanish team had a disappointing result in the Princess Sofia Trophy, there is still time to improve before the next Games. In any case, Max Maeder's impressive performance in the regatta shows that the competition will be fierce in the upcoming Olympic competitions.