Finn Butcher is never less than completely honest with himself. That is why the Olympic champion paddler does not hold back when asked to assess his efforts at the canoe slalom world championships in Oklahoma recently. Butcher, whose stunning run to gold in kayak cross at the 2024 Paris Olympics made him an instant Otago sporting great, battled to find his best form at this year’s world championships. He did not make the top 20 of the traditional K1 slalom and he missed out on the kayak cross semifinals. “My honest assessment is that it was petty below par,” Butcher told the Otago Daily Times. “I came away reasonably disappointed with the way that I paddled there.” It was a far cry from 2021, when he announced his arrival on the world stage with silver in the manic kayak cross event in Bratislava, and even 2025, when he was fourth in the K1 in Sydney. Despite his frustrations, Butcher remains optimistic as he keeps his eye on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. His is a fickle sport and he has been around long enough to know sometimes you are the boss of the whitewater — and sometimes the whitewater is the boss of you. “Sometimes that’s just how this sport goes, unfortunately. “It’s up and down. You prepare as much as you can, and try to execute what you can do, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.” While 36th overall in the K1 event in Oklahoma does not sound wonderful, Butcher was just 0.7sec off qualifying for the semifinals. He said the course was on the easier side but the issue was more about his own state of mind. “I’ve kind of been battling a little bit with how I’m feeling in the boat and actually a lack of confidence. “I think I ended up paddling a little bit safe, a bit conservatively, and felt like I couldn’t really push. “In K1, on an easy course, the time really bleeds away if you’re not pushing hard, and I made a couple of little mistakes as well, which dropped me down the order a fair bit.” Butcher won his opening race in kayak cross at the world championships. He was re-seeded ninth and ended up in a heat with some heavy hitters. “We all started reasonably even but I chased one guy into the first upstream and he executed a technique really well in a pretty tight space, and just managed to turn around in front of me. “I was kind of on the back foot from there and then another guy did something really similar. “Honestly, there wasn’t much different I could have done, apart from getting in front of them at the start. They just nailed it. “I think I ended up 17th overall, so definitely not where I wanted to be, but it is what it is.” Time on the Oklahoma whitewater was invaluable as the course will be used for the LA Olympics. “There’s actually two channels there and we weren’t on the one they will use at the Olympics, which is weird but a bit of a long story.” Butcher can never be kept down for too long. He felt he started the season in reasonable nick after a good block of training. “I think I just need to make a couple of little tweaks, mindset-wise, and chip away at a couple of other things to get to where I want to be.” He has two more rounds of the world cup circuit remaining, at Vaires-Sur Maine (France) and La Seu d’Urgell (Spain) in September. They count for Olympic qualifying as part of a new multi-race process that will continue into 2027. Outside the kayak, there is also plenty to keep him occupied. Butcher and fellow paddler Courtney Williams are getting married in March. hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz
