FILE PHOTO: Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Sailing - Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Centre, Ningbo, China - September 27, 2023 Gold medallist Singapore's Max Maeder poses during the medal ceremony for the Men's Kite - Ika Formula Kite Final 01 Sport Singapore via REUTERS/Jeremy Lee/File Photo
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - There is more than Olympic gold at stake for Singaporean kiteboarder Max Maeder this week -- he could also land a one-million Singapore dollar ($753,579) payout.
Singapore's Major Games Award Programme (MAP) offers cash payouts to athletes who win medals at the Olympic, Asian, Commonwealth and South East Asian (SEA) Games.
The only Singaporean to win Olympic gold for the island city state so far was swimmer Joseph Schooling in 2016.
"The largest gold medal award is $1 million (Singapore dollars), payable to the athlete who claims an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games," the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) says on its website.
Maeder is world champion in Formula Kite and has made a strong start to the racing in Marseille. Going into Thursday's medal's finals, the 17-year-old was lying in second place on the leader board, behind Slovenia's Toni Vodisek.
Billed as the fastest sport of the Olympics, kiteboarding made its Games debut on Sunday, giving spectators action-packed racing as the foiling kite sailors try to avoid wipeouts as they "send it" around the course in Marseille.
Singapore's scheme presents the taxable awards to winning athletes, not national sports associations. However, "it is mandatory for all athletes to plough back a certain percentage" to their association for future training and development, the SNOC says.
($1 = 1.3270 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Clare Fallon)
