MARSEILLE: Minutes after securing his Olympic medal, Hwee Keng Maeder and her son Maximilian shared a quiet moment.
Arms draped around the 17-year-old kitefoiler, her message was simple - that although he was upset, he had made history.
Maeder clinched a bronze at the Paris Olympics on Friday (Aug 9), becoming the youngest Singaporean to medal at the Games.
He also ended his country's eight-year wait for an Olympic podium finish, since swimmer Joseph Schooling won gold in 2016.
But there were mixed emotions for the back-to-back world champion, after a three-race, two-day final which ended with Austria's Valentin Bontus winning gold while Slovenia's Toni Vodisek took silver.
“I'll speak the truth and say I haven't finished sulking, but I'm putting a smile on now," said Maeder. "I still need to process everything that's going on because, yeah, it's a lot."
Hwee Keng instantly recognised this as her son not wanting to disappoint.
“I know my son, he doesn’t feel good about himself … he felt like he let a lot of people down.
“I’m heartbroken because he is sad."
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Arms draped around the 17-year-old kitefoiler, her message was simple - that although he was upset, he had made history.
Maeder clinched a bronze at the Paris Olympics on Friday (Aug 9), becoming the youngest Singaporean to medal at the Games.
He also ended his country's eight-year wait for an Olympic podium finish, since swimmer Joseph Schooling won gold in 2016.
But there were mixed emotions for the back-to-back world champion, after a three-race, two-day final which ended with Austria's Valentin Bontus winning gold while Slovenia's Toni Vodisek took silver.
“I'll speak the truth and say I haven't finished sulking, but I'm putting a smile on now," said Maeder. "I still need to process everything that's going on because, yeah, it's a lot."
Hwee Keng instantly recognised this as her son not wanting to disappoint.
“I know my son, he doesn’t feel good about himself … he felt like he let a lot of people down.
“I’m heartbroken because he is sad."
Continue reading...