SINGAPORE – Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder added yet another achievement to a stellar season on Oct 26, when he was named one of four nominees for World Sailing’s Male Sailor of the Year accolade.

This is the second time that the 20-year-old has been nominated for the prestigious annual awards, which launched in 1994 to recognise the outstanding achievements of individual and team sailors.

He was also shortlisted for the accolade in 2023, making history as the first Singaporean to be recognised.

Tom Slingsby was eventually named the winner for a third time, after he guided Australia to a third consecutive SailGP title.

A year later, Maeder was named male Young World Sailor of the Year after a brilliant season that saw him claim an Olympic bronze at Paris 2024 and nine other titles, including the world, European and Asian championships.

The winners of the 2026 edition will be announced on Nov 18 in Qingdao, China, as part of the World Sailing Annual Conference.

The other nominees are Australia’s ILCA 7 world championships silver medallist Matt Wearn, Dutch iQFoil world champion Luuc van Opzeeland and French yacht racer Thomas Coville, who led Sodebo Ultim 3 to a new Jules Verne Trophy record for the fastest crewed circumnavigation of the world.

Maeder has enjoyed a standout 2026 in which he won every event he competed in.

He kicked off the year by winning a test event in January for the next World Sailing Championships, which will take place in Fortaleza, Brazil in 2027, before shining in his first major regatta of the season by clinching his fourth straight Trofeo Princesa Sofia title three months later.

Victory at the French Olympic Week followed shortly after, before he reclaimed his world title in May to become a three-time world champion as he won the Formula Kite World Championships in Portugal.

He marked his 20th birthday in September with his fifth title at the Formula Kite European Championships.

Two-time Olympic champion Wearn also had an exceptional year, winning five events, including the Trofeo Princesa Sofia, French Olympic Week and San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta.

In addition to being crowned world champion, van Opzeeland also retained his European title, while Coville and his six crewmates on the Sodebo Ultim 3 completed the circumnavigation in 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds, bettering the previous mark, which had stood for nine years, by more than 12 hours.