Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder, wushu exponent Zeanne Law win top honours at Singapore Sports Awards
Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder, who clinched bronze at the Paris Olympics, earned his first Sportsman of the Year gong at the 2025 Singapore Sports Awards on June 20. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
SINGAPORE – Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder added another feather to his cap on June 20, when he was named Sportsman of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards for the first time.
It was his first nomination for the award, having previously won Sportsboy of the Year for three consecutive years.
Following an impressive 2024 season, the 18-year-old edged out strong contenders – silat exponent Sheik Farhan Bin Sheik Alau'ddin, pool player Aloysius Yapp, badminton's Loh Kean Yew, and wushu exponent Jowen Lim – to clinch the Sportsman gong at the ceremony held at Swissotel The Stamford Singapore.
Maeder is the first sailor to win the top men's award since 1999, when Siew Shaw Her, who won gold in the men's 420 class at the 1998 Asian Games, last received the accolade.
The teenager dominated the international kitefoiling circuit in 2024, winning nearly every event, including the European and World Championships.
In August, he became Singapore's sixth and youngest Olympic medallist after clinching bronze at the Marseille Marina.
After the Olympics, Maeder continued his fine form by clinching the overall title at the Kitefoil World Series, before capping off a stellar season with victory at the Formula Kite Youth European Championships.
His achievements were further recognised in November, when he was named World Sailing's Male Young Sailor of the Year.
The Sportswoman of the Year award also had a first-time winner in Zeanne Law, who is the first wushu exponent to win the top female accolade.
The other nominees for the award were Daphne Tan (bowling), Valencia Yip (kickboxing), Teh Xiu Hong (shooting), Nurdianna Sidek (silat) and Gan Ching Hwee (swimming).
In 2024, Law won gold in the women's taijiquan and optional taijishan events at the World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore, in addition to a women's optional taijiquan gold at the Asian Wushu Championships.
With their wins on June 20, both Maeder and Law became the first athletes in two decades to claim both junior and senior honours in consecutive years.
Swimmer Mark Chay was the last male athlete to be crowned the 2001 Sportsboy and 2002 Sportsman, while sailor Joan Huang claimed the 1998 Sportsgirl and 1999 Sportswoman gongs.
Organised by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG), the annual ceremony honours outstanding sporting achievements of those who have done well at the national and international levels.
The event, which is supported by the Tote Board, was attended by SNOC president Grace Fu and Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo.
The Straits Times senior correspondent David Lee picked up the Most Inspiring Sports Story of the Year award for his story 'Old is gold for Singapore's 70-year-old darts legend Paul Lim'.
Assistant sports editor Rohit Brijnath and journalist Deepanraj Ganesan were also nominated for the award for their stories 'Joseph Schooling took us to brilliant places we'd never been to before' and 'From despair to delight: Jeralyn Tan's journey to boccia silver at the Paralympics' respectively.
Singapore Sports Awards winners (selected)
Sportsman of the Year: Maximilian Maeder (Sailing)
Sportswoman of the Year: Zeanne Law (Wushu)
Sportsboy of the Year: Kai Minejima Lee (Indoor Skydiving)
Sportsgirl of the Year: Charlotte Ng (Wushu)
Coach of the Year: Yeo Mee Hong (Netball)
Team of the Year (event): Bowling Men's Team (2024 Asian Bowling Championships)
Team of the Year (sport): Netball team
Kimberly Kwek joined The Straits Times in 2019 as a sports journalist and has since covered a wide array of sports, including golf and sailing.
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In either case, I will applaud.
