Gold medallist Finn Butcher of Team New Zealand stands on the podium during the Canoe Slalom Men's Kayak Cross medal ceremony at the Paris Olympics 2024. Photo / Getty Images
By Michael Burgess in Paris
Finn Butcher was 3 years old when he first sat in a kayak.
It was early but also inevitable, as his father Dale had been an accomplished multisporter, competing in several editions of the Coast to Coast, and there were plenty of kayaks “lying around” their property.
Butcher is the talk of the country after his brilliant kayak cross triumph in Paris on Tuesday (NZT) – one of those memorable gold medals that seems to come out of nowhere – but it has been a long road.
When they finished work, Dale and his wife Wendy Robertson would often take their children up to the local waterway – Lake Dunstan in Alexandra – for the evening.
“We used to put our kids – Finn and his older sister Meg – in a wee kayak with a string on the back and they would paddle out and we would haul them back in again,” Dale tells the Herald.
“I guess that was the beginning of it all.”
If that was the start, what happened six years later was the spark.
When he was 9, local coach Gordon Rayner took Butcher to a slalom event at the Shaky bridge in Alexandra.
“Finn won the novice category,” recalls Dale. “It was five gates, two upstream. But I remember sitting down with him afterwards and he said ‘Dad, I really want a boat’.
“At that event one of the other organisers, Alan ‘Sarge’ Hoffman was selling his son’s boat, a paddle and skirt for $300 and said if anybody was interested to come and see him afterwards.
“I told Finn, if you want it you go up and talk to Sarge. So he did. Sarge has since passed away [in 2022], tragically, but I think he knew Finn was going to get to the Olympics.”
About 6.30pm on Monday night, Dale Butcher was standing on a roundabout, just outside the kayak cross venue at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, 20 kilometres to the east of Paris, where his son had won a spectacular gold about 90 minutes earlier.
Surrounded by friends and family, who had travelled from New Zealand and around the world, it was a special moment. They were wearing custom made t-shirts – Butcher’s girlfriend Courtney had 28 made before the Games – and were ready to celebrate.
“You’ve caught me at a good time,” he laughed. “We were just about to pop the champagne.”
That was more than warranted. Butcher’s triumph was an achievement for the whole family, especially his parents, who have devoted a massive portion of their lives (and savings) to the pursuit of his dream.
“It’s been a long journey but a very fruitful journey,” said Dale.
“We are so proud of him for following through on his dream. I always said that slalom and his career was our hobby, if you know what I mean. Some people buy a nice car and do overseas trips, but we always supported him and we have loved every minute of it.”
Butcher first travelled to Europe as a 15-year-old – to compete in some lower level competitions – and has been going to the continent most years ever since.
That has required massive financial support from Dale and Wendy, who ran a popular wedding and function venue in Alexandra for almost three decades.
In that time there were more than 550 weddings and numerous other functions, including ‘adventurers and explorers’ night, bringing guest speakers from around the country.
During high season it entailed 100-hour weeks but they never looked back.
“We were hard workers, head bangers but there are a lot of people like that,” said Dale.
“We worked bloody hard, did a lot of fundraising for the local kayak club but you can repeat that across the nation for that level of sport, for a long time it is the parent’s love and hobby and support.”
They also maintained faith in their son, through ups and downs and trusted the great coaching from his various mentors, starting with Rayner and Hoffman.
“He always listened and seemed like a coachable kid,” said Dale.
“Once he got the bit between his teeth, he’s pretty motivated. He might have had a messy bedroom but I don’t think he had a messy mind, if you know what I mean. He would focus and work; he has the ability to keep finding his way through.”
But Dale admits to occasional doubts about whether his son could make it, in such a complex and challenging sport.
“We knew he was good but will he ever be good enough? I probably had doubts but he never did,” says Dale.
“The last doubt he had would have been when he was about 14. He had a training day and he said: ‘Do I have to go?’. We said, ‘well, are you going to let the team down?’ That was at 14. After that, he has never had a doubt.”
After a series of promising results, the biggest turning point came in September 2021, when Butcher grabbed silver at the kayak cross world championships in Slovakia, behind Great Britain’s Joe Clarke. That was the trigger to release high performance funding, as he moved into a new echelon.
“When he was standing on the podium, he said the first thing that came into his mind was that Mum and Dad won’t have to work so hard,” recalls Dale.
“We never regretted doing it but he was aware of it, so as a good kid, he knew what we were doing for him, and that was one of the most joyous moments of his life.
“We always said we will keep at it, working those long nights, until Finn gets the funding and then we are done.”
Within six months they put their business on the market and moved to a property overlooking the river.
“We were ready to semi-retire so we sold it,” said Dale. “It’s been a long road, a lot of input from a lot of really good people and we feel really lucky to have been part of it.”
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