Finn Butcher Explained

Finn Butcher
Birth Date:17 March 1995
Birth Place:Dunedin, New Zealand
Height:1.82 m[1]
Weight:77 kg[2]
Sport:Canoe slalom
Event:K-1, Kayak cross

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

Butcher first tried paddling aged nine. His early canoeing experience is from the Kawarau River.[11] His mentor was Alan "Sarge" Hoffman, who died in 2022.[12] 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.[13]

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).[14]

He won a silver medal in kayak cross at the 2021 World Championships in Bratislava, beaten for gold by Joe Clarke.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17]

World Cup individual podiums

SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent
2021 13 June 2021 bgcolor=silver2nd Kayak cross[18]
2023 8 October 2023 bgcolor=silver2nd Kayak cross[19]
2024 31 May 2024 align=left rowspan=2bgcolor=silver2nd K1[20]
2 June 2024 3rd Kayak cross[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Finn Butcher . . 5 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211026181842/https://www.olympic.org.nz/athletes/finn-butcher/ . 26 October 2021.
  2. News: Finn Butcher . . 6 August 2024 . fr.
  3. Web site: Finn Butcher (NZL) . CanoeSlalom.net . 26 September 2021.
  4. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20211102123340/https://infoicf.msl.es/webICF/searcherOneSport?page=ZBB101A_0000000308SL@@@@@@@@@ENG_number=36663 . 2 November 2021 . Biography . 2 November 2021 . infoicf.msl.es . 2 November 2021 .
  5. Web site: Finn Butcher . . 5 August 2024.
  6. News: Priestley . Laine . Shaw . Ruby . Gran gleeful as grandson grabs gold . 6 August 2024 . . 6 August 2024.
  7. News: Heveldt . Guy . Watch: 'The Butcher' muscles his way to gold for NZ in kayak cross . 6 August 2024 . . 6 August 2024.
  8. Web site: Golden moment Finn Butcher Men's Kayak Cross Paris Olympics 2024 . Sky Sport NZ . 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".
  9. Web site: Living a career highlight: graduate to make Paris debut . . 6 August 2024 . 25 June 2024.
  10. Web site: Distance study allows rapid rise for canoe champ . . 6 August 2024 . 15 July 2019.
  11. News: Shannon . Kris . Olympics 2024: Finn Butcher stuns world champion to win gold in canoe slalom cross . 6 August 2024 . . 6 August 2024.
  12. Web site: Canoe Slalom mourn loss of legendary Sarge . Canoe Slalom NZ . 5 August 2024 . 30 October 2022.
  13. News: Tauranga canoe athletes to take on the world's best . 6 August 2024 . . 8 February 2017.
  14. News: Troughton . Jamie . Brilliant finish by young Kiwi paddlers Butcher and Mutton . 6 August 2024 . . 25 July 2018.
  15. Web site: Men's Extreme Slalom – Results . 6 August 2024.
  16. News: Olympics 2024: Who is Finn Butcher? New Zealand's latest gold medal winner . 6 August 2024 . . 6 August 2024.
  17. News: Johannsen . Dana . Finn Butcher wins first ever kayak cross Olympic gold . 6 August 2024 . . 6 August 2024.
  18. Web site: Extreme Slalom M official result list – World Cup Race 1 . 6 August 2024.
  19. Web site: KXM official result list – World Cup Final . 6 August 2024.
  20. Web site: World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak . 6 August 2024.
  21. Web site: World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak Cross . 6 August 2024.

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