There was a time when Finn Butcher did not believe he even belonged among his paddling peers on the world stage. Now, the New Zealander, fondly known as “The Butcher”, is an Olympic champion, who will forever be etched in Canoe Slalom’s history books.
A lot has changed in the life of Butcher after becoming the first man to win the kayak cross crown at the Olympic Games.
Butcher sat down with cyclist Ellesse Andrews and sprint paddler Max Brown as part of the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s Ain’t Just Dreaming series to reflect on his path to Olympic glory.
“I had to do a lot of work in the past with my coach and sports psychologist to feel like I belonged with the top guys,” said Butcher.
“Even though I had some good results here and there, something holding me back was that I didn’t really feel like I belonged with the best.
“I was almost at events looking at my heroes, thinking 'wow'.
“You don’t feel like you can beat them, and it took a few years for me to realise that I can win these things.”
In the 30-minute chat with Andrews and Brown, Butcher credited his upbringing in the Central Otago region and his three values of “hard work”, “perseverance” and “having fun” in helping him blossom at Paris 2024.
“I really wanted to enjoy Paris,” said Butcher.
“I missed out on selection for Tokyo which was like having a dream in your hands and letting it slip through your fingers.
“Callum (Gilbert) was really good in our selection and beat me.
“There is no guarantee that I would get there again so I was thinking I have to enjoy every moment of the Olympics.”
Butcher also reflected on his experience at the Closing Ceremony after being selected to carry the New Zealand flag with Canoe Sprint great Lisa Carrington who won three golds in Paris.
“That was crazy,” said Butcher.
“It was really special.
“I was crying on the phone.
“To be able to represent the rest of the team and country and carry that flag with the GOAT (Carrington) was pretty cool.
“The whole team was so amazing in Paris so to carry that in was something I’ll never forget.”
As well as getting to grips with being an Olympic gold medallist, the 29-year-old is also getting used to his nickname after being dubbed “The Butcher”.
“It’s just taken off,” said Butcher.
“I never had a nickname when I was a kid.
“My dad had 'Butch' as his nickname.
“For the World Cups, the commentator for our live stream would call me 'The Butcher' and I thought it fits kayak cross pretty well and there is something Kiwi about it!
“When I started rewatching the Games coverage, I could see that that guy was calling me 'The Butcher' again so it’s taken off.
“For kayak cross, you need to be savage.”
Looking ahead to LA28, Butcher added: “I’m locked in for the next four years!
“I’m looking forward to ripping into the prep and seeing what can happen.
“Kayak cross is still a new sport which is going to evolve pretty fast, so I try to stay ahead of the curve and keep learning.”
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