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Finn Butcher

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Finn Butcher
Butcher in 2024
Personal information
Born (1995-03-17) 17 March 1995 (age 29)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight77 kg (170 lb)[2]
Sport
SportCanoe slalom
EventK-1, Kayak cross
Medal record
Men's canoe slalom
Representing  New Zealand
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Kayak cross
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Bratislava 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

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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

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Butcher at the 2022 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships

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 was a non-travelling reserve for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games 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

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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

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  1. ^ "Finn Butcher". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Finn Butcher". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Finn Butcher (NZL)". CanoeSlalom.net. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Biography". infoicf.msl.es. 2 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Finn Butcher". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  6. ^ Priestley, Laine; Shaw, Ruby (6 August 2024). "Gran gleeful as grandson grabs gold". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ Heveldt, Guy (6 August 2024). "Watch: 'The Butcher' muscles his way to gold for NZ in kayak cross". 1 News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Golden moment | Finn Butcher | Men's Kayak Cross | Paris Olympics 2024". Sky Sport NZ. 5 August 2024. 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
  9. ^ "Living a career highlight: graduate to make Paris debut". Massey University. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Distance study allows rapid rise for canoe champ". Massey University. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Canoe Slalom mourn loss of legendary Sarge". Canoe Slalom NZ. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Tauranga canoe athletes to take on the world's best". Bay of Plenty Times. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  15. ^ Troughton, Jamie (25 July 2018). "Brilliant finish by young Kiwi paddlers Butcher and Mutton". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Men's Extreme Slalom – Results" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  17. ^ Johannsen, Dana (6 August 2024). "Finn Butcher wins first ever kayak cross Olympic gold". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Extreme Slalom M official result list – World Cup Race 1" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  19. ^ "KXM official result list – World Cup Final" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  20. ^ "World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  21. ^ "World Cup Race 1 – Men's Kayak Cross" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
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