The psychology student, who is athlete for the KSG Wuppertal club, initially competed eight times in various disciplines on the Beetzsee near Brandenburg an der Havel. He came third in the single canoe over 5,000 metres and in the double canoe over 500 metres, and came second with the 8-man team at the German Championships.

Directly afterwards, the international student competition, the FISU World University Championships (WUC) in canoe racing 2024, was on the agenda in Portugal from 21 to 24 August. With four starts in the single canoe, Maximilian Zöllner once again finished on the podium in the 5,000 metres and secured bronze. The other placings: 4th place in the 1,000 metres, 5th place in the 500 metres and 7th place in the 200 metres. "Those were intense days, I haven't had this level of competition for a long time. But I really enjoyed the time and am very happy about the bronze medal at my first student world championships , which came as a surprise to me. A great experience!" summarises Zöllner, who is now looking forward to a short break to recover.