Singapore: A Singaporean who was returning from the Olympics with a prize around his neck was a sight to behold. Followers and members of the flying brotherhood gathered at Changi Airport.
Maximilian Maeder, Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist at the age of 17, landed at around 6am on Tuesday ( Aug 13 ), and greeted with cheers and cheers from a crowd of about 50 people.  ,
He embraced family members, posed for photos with supporters, autographed autographs, and also picked up a number of young fans who had awoke as early as 4am to take the trip down to view their new wearing idol while wearing the bronze medal from the Paris Olympics.  ,
He received gifts from fans, received some flower garlands, and received a greeting from Edwin Tong, the minister for neighborhood, culture, and youth.  ,
When Maeder arrived, he told the media,” I’m most overjoyed by the fact how good the welcome has been. I may show to you what it means to have a trip like this with all the people here and see how my efforts have helped.”  ,
” I very much look forward to trying to repeat ( such a feat ) in any way I can” . ,
Among the kids that met Maeder was six-year-old Caleb Tan.  ,
He had a sign that read,” I skipped school to discover Max Maeder.”  ,
” I feel happy, because this is my first time gathering Max Maeder for real”, he said.  ,
Peter Tan, Caleb’s family, informed him that they were monitoring Maeder’s development and that his son was excited to see a Singaporean as a major medalist.  ,
She claimed that she had no idea what to expect the girl to hold her child onto his shoulders with his sign despite her wishes for him to have a photo with him.  ,
” I think that shows he’s very friendly and approachable, and it’s a good inspiration for ( Caleb) to have a role model like Max”, said the 35-year-old financial consultant.
” Even though he’s still young, we do n’t know what impact it would give him in the future”, she added.
She claimed Caleb had skip class as the signal suggested and may take a nap at house after waking up so early.  ,
Maeder praised the encouragement from young fans, saying,” I can only imagine them getting out of bed early to see me ( and ) it really makes my day so good.
Sailor Ryan Lo likewise arrived to cheers from the crowd soon after Max had just emerged.  ,
The 27-year-old completed 25th in a field of 43 in the people’s canoe event at the Paris Olympics.
He claimed that Maeder’s success, which included winning the first flying award of the Olympics, was an inspiration to the sailing community.  ,
He said,” I’m just so happy for him and for the entire area in Singapore,” and that seeing how far he has come is a great gift.
Among the followers who turned up was 31-year-old Afiq Azman. Due to Maeder’s achievement, he decided to travel down to enjoy what he thought was an “unexpected medal,” and had only heard of kitefoiling during the Olympics.  ,
” I think it’s more his story that inspires me, because he’s the youngest ( Olympic ) medalist we ever had … he’s still ( has ) a long way to go in his career. Thus, we are all the method behind him”, said Mr Afiq, who works in the travel industry.
Bonnie, a young college student, made the decision to show him a card she had made and leave for her school day in the night.  , She became a lover not just because of his medal-winning miracle but even his culture.  ,
” His athletic skills, and even his philosophy and standpoint, I find that truly inspiring”, she said.