![]() Butcher in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Dunedin, New Zealand | 17 March 1995||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 77 kg (170 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Canoe slalom | ||||||||||||||||||||
Event | K-1, Kayak cross | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Finn Butcher (born 17 March 1995) is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2012.[3][4] He is the inaugural Olympic champion in kayak cross in 2024.
Early life
Butcher was born in Dunedin on 17 March 1995.[5] He grew up in Alexandra in Central Otago. He attended Dunstan High School.[6] He is often referred to as "The Butcher".[7][8]
Butcher studied industrial design at the University of Otago for two years. He took a year off from university to concentrate on training, travelling, and competition. He moved to Auckland in 2016. He then enrolled for and graduated from a bachelor of sport and exercise via distance study at Massey University.[9][10]
Canoeing
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/2022_ICF_Canoe_Slalom_World_Championships_-_Finn_Butcher_-_New_Zealand_-_by_2eight_-_ZSC2213.jpg/220px-2022_ICF_Canoe_Slalom_World_Championships_-_Finn_Butcher_-_New_Zealand_-_by_2eight_-_ZSC2213.jpg)
Butcher first tried paddling aged nine.[5] His early canoeing experience is from the Kawarau River.[11] His mentor was Alan "Sarge" Hoffman, who died in 2022.[12][13] Once he had moved to Auckland, he flatted with fellow canoeist Callum Gilbert so that they could maximise their training time at the then-new Vector Wero Whitewater Park in Manukau.[14]
At the 2018 World Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom Championships, Butcher came fourth in the U23 K-1, narrowly beaten by Sweden's Erik Holmer for the bronze medal (Holmer finished in 80.85 sec and Butcher in 80.89 sec).[15]
He won a silver medal in kayak cross at the 2021 World Championships in Bratislava, beaten for gold by Joe Clarke.[16]
Butcher went to the Tokyo Olympics as a travelling reserve for the K-1 event. At the 2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, he gained quota places for New Zealand in K-1 and kayak cross by finishing 13th and 11th, respectively.[12] He was selected to fill these quota places and competed in slalom K-1 and kayak cross. In the K-1, he missed getting into the finals. In the kayak cross, he became the inaugural Olympic champion when he unexpectedly beat the three-time world champion Joe Clarke.[11][17]
World Cup individual podiums
Season | Date | Venue | Position | Event |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 13 June 2021 | Prague | 2nd | Kayak cross[18] |
2023 | 8 October 2023 | Vaires-sur-Marne | 2nd | Kayak cross[19] |
2024 | 31 May 2024 | Augsburg | 2nd | K1[20] |
2 June 2024 | 3rd | Kayak cross[21] |
References
- ^ "Finn Butcher". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Finn Butcher". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Finn Butcher (NZL)". CanoeSlalom.net. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "Biography". infoicf.msl.es. 2 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Finn Butcher". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Priestley, Laine; Shaw, Ruby (6 August 2024). "Gran gleeful as grandson grabs gold". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Heveldt, Guy (6 August 2024). "Watch: 'The Butcher' muscles his way to gold for NZ in kayak cross". 1 News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Golden moment | Finn Butcher | Men's Kayak Cross | Paris Olympics 2024". Sky Sport NZ. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
You can never count this man out World Ranking top 10 he's in the ninth 29 years old from New Zealand it's The Butcher Finn Butcher
- ^ "Living a career highlight: graduate to make Paris debut". Massey University. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Distance study allows rapid rise for canoe champ". Massey University. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b Shannon, Kris (6 August 2024). "Olympics 2024: Finn Butcher stuns world champion to win gold in canoe slalom cross". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Olympics 2024: Who is Finn Butcher? New Zealand's latest gold medal winner". The New Zealand Herald. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Canoe Slalom mourn loss of legendary Sarge". Canoe Slalom NZ. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Tauranga canoe athletes to take on the world's best". Bay of Plenty Times. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Troughton, Jamie (25 July 2018). "Brilliant finish by young Kiwi paddlers Butcher and Mutton". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Men's Extreme Slalom – Results" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Johannsen, Dana (6 August 2024). "Finn Butcher wins first ever kayak cross Olympic gold". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Extreme Slalom M official result list – World Cup Race 1" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "KXM official result list – World Cup Final" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak Cross" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.