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Finn Butcher
New Zealand slalom canoeist (born 1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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]
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Canoeing
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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]
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World Cup individual podiums
References
External links
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