 Butcher in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 17 March 1995 Dunedin, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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.
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]
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]
| 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] |
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
