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Finn Butcher

Butcher in 2024
Personal information
Born	(1995-03-17) 17 March 1995 (age 29) Dunedin, New Zealand
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Sport	Canoe slalom
Event	K-1, Kayak cross
Medal record Men's canoe slalom Representing  New Zealand Olympic Games 2024 Paris Kayak cross World Championships 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. He is the inaugural Olympic champion in kayak cross in 2024.

Early life

Butcher was born in Dunedin on 17 March 1995. He grew up in Alexandra in Central Otago. He attended Dunstan High School. He is often referred to as "The Butcher".

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.

Canoeing

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

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).

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

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. 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.

World Cup individual podiums

References

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. ^ "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". 1News. 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. ^ 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. ^ "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.

External links

• Finn Butcher at the International Canoe Federation
• Finn Butcher at the New Zealand Olympic Committee

• Living people
• New Zealand male canoeists
• 1995 births
• Medalists at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
• Sportspeople from Dunedin
• 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen
• Canoeists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Massey University alumni
• Olympic canoeists for New Zealand
• Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand
• Olympic medalists in canoeing