September 29, 2024 • 23 mins
Finn Butcher is a talented New Zealand slalom canoeist who has been competing internationally since 2012. Growing up near the Kawarau River, Finn discovered his passion for paddling at the age of nine. Under the mentorship of Alan "Sarge" Hoffman, he developed his skills and later moved to Auckland, where he trained extensively at the Vector Wero Whitewater Park alongside fellow canoeist Callum Gilbert.
In his competitive career, Finn has achieved significant milestones, including a fourth-place finish in the U23 K-1 at the 2018 World Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom Championships, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. He also earned a silver medal in kayak cross at the 2021 World Championships in Bratislava, showcasing his potential on the world stage.
Most notably, Finn became the inaugural Olympic champion in kayak cross at the 2024 Olympics, where he made a stunning upset by defeating three-time world champion Joe Clarke. Prior to this triumph, he served as a non-travelling reserve for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and earned quota places for New Zealand at the 2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. Finn continues to be a rising star in the sport, dedicated to pushing his limits and inspiring future generations of paddlers.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News talk s ed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News talk z ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Did I welcome to real Life? I'm John Cown. There
were lots of moments during the Paris Olympics that made
Kiwis feel very happy and very proud, and one of
the best was seeing Finn Butcher fly down the course
to in the first ever kayak cross Olympic gold medal.
Congratulations Finn, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I mean it's a little while now since Paris, but
is it's still a buzz in your head.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It is, Yeah, it is. It sunk in a bit
more than I had, you know, straight after and the
weeks following that. Yeah, I'm still still buddy stoked about it.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, I'll let your wallow in those memories a little
bit more because I have don't think I've ever seen
anyone as happy in my life. I know, your muscles
in your arms supposed to have been tired, but those
grim muscles on your face were working so hard. Yeah.
Any real standout emotions and memories from that time.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I think just a hell of a lot of pride
and happiness and yeah, I mean, you know, even some
moments thinking back on the whole the whole journey and
my whole kind of kayaking career and life and everything,
and having the people, lots of people there that have
(01:40):
been a big part of all of that, and I think, yeah,
it was just pretty special moments. And you can't really
put it into words that loads of people will bass
me how did I feel in that moment where I
crossed the finish line. But it's just like the most
insane feeling you'd ever imagine. And I think, yeah, I
(02:01):
guess when you work really hard for something and then
you also, I've experienced you know, lot of failures, I
guess you could call them, but you know a lot
of ups and downs, and then when the big one
comes and you know, you perform the way you wanted to. Yeah,
it's pretty cool feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah. I mean, you didn't just pick up a paddle
last week, did you. It was twenty years of competitive
kayaking to get.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
To that point pretty much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah. And I was also thinking, there's there'll be a
lot of times when you don't have people on the
sideline like your dad, but you had you had a
big squad and it was lovely. You know. One of
the things that put a lump in my throat was
seeing you congratulate, you know, hagging your dad giving and
putting the medal around his neck. Yeah, and everything, because
(02:54):
he's been a big part of the journey.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
A yeah, yeah, Mum as well, Like, yeah, I think
having having them there was pretty special. And you know,
like I'm just super lucky to have parents. I do, because.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I mean a lot will tell us about Wendy and Dale.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
About Windy and Dale, yeah, they're pretty they're pretty key people,
and I suppose in my life obviously, but they've supported
me without any question basically since since the start. And
you know, like I think they've always just told me,
like the only thing they'd ever want and life is
to see their kids find something that they're passionate about
(03:36):
and and be happy and give it everything they can.
And there they supported me that whole the whole time
with that, and so I we obviously I actually grew
up in Alexandra in Centratago and they ran wedding and
function center and cafe, so they were kind of in
(04:00):
the hospitality business and basically worked like wreck their fingers
to the bone, especially in the summer season. So when
the weddings were rolling and the cafe was pumping in
the summer, they'll be doing like one hundred hour weeks
kind of just not not barely stopping and sacrificing a
(04:24):
lot to financially send me overseas or or up the
country or something to go and race or train, and
and there was never any question. It was always just
you want to do it, you're passionate about it, and
you're you're happy, and you know we'll support you. And
(04:45):
like you know, we didn't we didn't have a lot
of money. It was just, yeah, they just worked hard.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I've heard them say that supporting you as their hobby. Yeah,
but I suppose it's only fear though, because they gave
you the bag in the first place. I believe he
was putting you at a canoe when you're about three
years old and pushing you out onto Lake Duncton.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah. Yeah, so well Dad was always into multi sports.
He did the Coast to coast a couple of times
and or a few times, and a few different things.
And yes, we always had kind of kayaks around and
bikes and you know with all good go on hikes
or whatever. And yeah, I think I must have been
pretty young when they first put me in a kayak
(05:28):
and just pushed me out into like dune some with
a bit of string tied to it so they could
pull me back in. So it's always been there.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
As you're looking around when you won your gold medal,
it would have been great to see your sister and
your parents and your girlfriend and a big crowd of supporters.
But I bet you wish that Alan sarge Hoffman was there.
Tell us a bit about sarg Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I'm already tearing up just even thinking about him, to
be honest.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
He's a big player and in the in the community,
you know, like he when I was growing up in Alexandra,
he lived in Wanaka with his wife Kirsty and their
two boys, Neck and Mike, and you know.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
They were kind of involved in the community. And I
suppose starting to describe how he was like the community
as a whole, as it's a small sport and you know,
like it relies on people's passion to keep things going
and get more people into it and things like that,
(06:35):
and he was just a huge driver of that. Him
and Percy were running a lot of the races and
things like that and up at hardware or whatever, and
just the real driver in the community. And then they
moved up to why like a white and on the coast,
so I didn't see too much of them. And then
he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is you know,
(06:59):
basically terminal and was given sort of six to nine
months to live. And basically, like he he just didn't
let him didn't let it get him, and he just
kept working as hard as he could. And he was
a big part of We've got a whitewater course in
Tikapo just out of Lake Tikeapo. So when they built
(07:23):
the canals, they divert the river and yeah, we've got
a course on that river. So he was up in
Tikapo every single weekend, just like digging away with his
digger and moving all sorts of rocks and it was
just and he was just the type of person that
would do anything for you, and he was so supportive
(07:47):
of everyone and again just wanted to see people be
happy and succeed, and succeeding didn't necessarily mean winning anything.
It was just enjoying paddling and getting out there and man,
he was, yeah, an absolute legion. It's quite hard to
describe him because he's just he's just like a real
(08:07):
I don't know if I'm allowed to swear or not,
but get done, you know, like how you just got
it done and without question, he would do it.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
You met SARJ. Hoffmann on your first event. Would you won?
Of course when you were nine years old.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
So we had a we had a Novice Salem race
down on the on our local river, the manahu Care
and Alexander and during the Blossom festival, and yeah, it
was kind of my introduction and then yeah, Serge was
running it and for help of others, and yeah, it
(08:43):
gave me a chocolate fish because I won. And and
you know, at the end of it, he said, I've
got this kayak. It's pretty beat up, but you know,
kayak can pedal and a espray deck for I don't
know what it was for hundred bucks or three hundred
bucks or something. And you know, if anyone's interested, and
I was kind of I don't. I don't really know
(09:04):
if I you know, pul Dad's arm or or he went.
You know, I think he went. You know, if you're
keen on this, like, go and talk to sergeant. You know,
we can buy that boat and you can get into it.
And so yeah, there you go. We I went up
and yearned to him and went up to hardware the
(09:24):
next week or something and bought this boat off him,
and that was it.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Still got it, You've still got it, still got it,
you fitted it?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yeah, yeah, but it was just an old so they
used to be for meat as long they cut them
down in size now, but yeah, and an old danger
which yeah, but we've still got it in the shed.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Well, I've been reading back through some old clippings and things,
and you know, as I say, it's been twenty years
of competing. And yeah, I mean you you were you
were an international sportsman right back at high school. You're
off to Canada. Yeah, that must have been a real
buzz for a young fellow.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, it was pretty cool, pretty cool. So yeah, I
mean sort of probably weren't wasn't racing it when I
was nine, but you know, you're just getting into it.
But yeah, when I went to high school, we we
managed to tee up a trip to go to Canada.
And first time we went, we did a like a
(10:27):
whitewater camp in Ottawa, so on the Ottawa River in Ontario,
and and that was pretty cool. We went to La.
We had one of my friends at school with kayaking
friends that his mum's Americans, so we stayed at their
old place in la and then went across to Canada.
It was pretty cool and just like experiencing the other
(10:49):
side of the world for one part of the world
and being able to kayak on these famous rivers with
all these famous white water white water guys. And then
the next year, I think I got to go and
race the like a pre junior World's race when I
was kind of I made the junior junior team and slalom,
(11:12):
so yeah, it was it was pretty cool. But we
were we were just like flying across the States, just
the two of us, me and my friend by ourselves.
And he's a bit younger than me as well, so
I think he would be I must have been fourteen
maybe and he would have been like eleven or no,
(11:33):
must've been twelve. And like I mean, we got dropped
at the airport and then picked up the other end.
It wasn't like two but the border patrol was pretty
they weren't that stoked about it. Because I think people
been running away from home, so they they were clued
onto it and made us call called back to La
and make sure that we're all We're all good and
(11:55):
we weren't just running away from whoever was looking after us.
But yeah, it was pretty cool, and I think, yeah,
I mean I might have been a bit older than that.
I might have been fifteen. I don't really remember that.
Still pretty yeah, he was. Max was definitely young, young fella.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
If you've just tuned in my guest tonight, it's gold
medalist Finn Butcher, and I'll be talking to him more
about his adventures in kayaking and finding out a bit
more about how he got to Paris to win that gold.
This is real life on news Talk, said B.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on Newstalk, SEDB.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Welcome back to real life on John Cown talking to
gold medalist Finn Butcher. And he's picked that song for us.
What are we listening to their? Finn?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh, a bit of fat, pretty strop pull the catch.
So yeah, it's a nice one. Just kind of reminds
me of home. I've been away for a fair chunk
of the year, so for some reason. In the last
few weeks, I've just been ripping into the Kiwi song.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So, yeah, do you get homesick? Uh?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Oh, not necessarily homesick, but definitely yeah, I definitely want
to go home at some point of the year. And
it's actually funny you say that, because when I was
a kid, I got so homesick I couldn't even like
stayed a friend's house down the road kind of thing.
And then yeah, like we talked about before going to
the States by ourselves or traveling from la to Canada
(13:22):
by ourselves, and it was It's a real funny thing
that Mum always joked about it and went like, how
did you go from a kid that couldn't even leave
leave his parents' house to go stay at a friend's
house and then you're going away overseas by yourself.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
You would have had a very very miserable life if
you'd never got over that homesickness, because I don't know
how many times, how many times would you have been
to Europe now you must have been going spent every
year for donkeys.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Who Yeah, I raced I think twenty basically twenty thirteen
through to nineteen, and then we didn't travel in twenty
twenty and then twenty two one since to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Now, so apart from the COVID years, you've been overseas
is kayaking every year. It's an amazing investment in your career,
but it's paid off. I imagine there's only so far
you can go and building your muscles and your and
your technique. But what about the psychology. Is that something
(14:26):
you've had to work on?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, massively? Yeah, it's huge. I mean I think, like
all high performance sport to a degree, like you know,
everyone's on such a level playing field in terms of
the physiology, you know, strength, power technique, and you know, looking.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Looking at your body, looking at my body, we're not
on a level of paying field. Okay, I suppose you're
comparing yourself with those other athletes.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, you know, I guess in our sport, we've got
like there's a lot of different body types and people
rely on different things. You know. It might be it
might paddle a bit more technically so they don't lose
as much speed, so they don't have to rely on
their power or strength as much. But like everyone's best
(15:18):
run or best performance is not far away from each other.
It's just can you do that consistently in the moment
that really matters, you know, like that, and that's that's
what makes the difference. And it was funny. I was
talking to my psych actually this morning. So I've been
(15:38):
really lucky.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
To have a sports psychologist.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Yeah, yeah, so I've been I've been really lucky to
have access to a sports psychologist for quite a long
time now, like since twenty sixteen. Yeah, and so we've
been working together for a long time, and you know,
we were just sort of debriefing the games and how,
(16:02):
you know, how it might the result might change the
way that I look at myself or how other people
look at me, and how I approach training or racing,
and how it all affects things. But also like the
sport I described it to her, and it's kind of
like you're constantly solving a puzzle, but at the same
(16:26):
time you're solving it, the parts of the puzzle that
you've already solved at a different time have changed. So
the puzzles constantly.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
There's always something new, always something new that you're working
on exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
And then also the things that you might think mentally
that you've you've worked on and you've kind of got
them on block and you've got that sorted. They change
because you change. The context changes, the race changes, the
way that you look at yourself change changes, and and
everything is just so like it's quite fluid, and basically
(17:01):
like what we're trying to do is like solve this
puzzle and try to at the time that really matters,
have the puzzle as whole as we can with as
many tools as we've got, and then be able to
nail it at that moment. It's like it's kind of
what keeps you coming back because there's no time where
(17:24):
everything's perfect. And then you know, like.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Twenty years thwenty years of competitive kayaking, you're still working
on getting this thing right.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, and you know me this year it's going to
be like I'm so I'm going to be so different
to Fin and twenty twenty eight and Fin in twenty
twenty eight is a completely different beast to twenty twenty
And it's just the way that things work, and it's
kind of like, I don't know, it's just fascinating how, yeah,
(17:56):
how you don't keep evolving or else you know, you're
not going anywhere.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I don't know whether you think about the psychology of
even before you start racing. But when you're sitting up
on the platform, before you do your six foot drop
into the water, you look like you'd already won.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
As they're introducing it, there was Joe what was his name, Joe,
Joe Clark. He looked like he was already in second place.
He had the stony serious look on his face. And
the German, I think is that Noah, he looked like
he was He looked like he was praying or apologizing
(18:34):
or something for coming third. And you look like you'd
already won. And I don't know whether that gives you
an edge or not, just that confidence of going into it.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, I think you know, we had, oh, I had
quite a simple mindset and game plan and the kite cross,
Like we knew the start was important and we knew that,
you know, like.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
That's where you want it, isn't it. That's where you
won it, right, Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And you know to start, well, you've got to have
you've got to be really intense, So you've got to
like be ready to move as soon as that buzzer
goes and the ramps dropping, get a bit of a
little bit of slide before everyone else, and then as
soon as you land, just going as hard as you
can and with not whatever happens, you're going. And actually
(19:25):
in the final, I didn't realize until I've seen some
slow mos that my second stroke, so I land on
the right and then the second stroke on the lift,
actually the blade, my pedal blade came up underneath the
check guy's bow. Yeah, And because of that, I let
go of my pedal on the lift so that I'm
(19:46):
pulling the stroke out of the water and my hand
comes off the blade and I transitioned back into the
right stroke, and as I'm doing the right stroke, I
grabbed the shaft again and then go back to the
lift and it's just like I didn't even realize, but
because I was just so intent and focused on just
going as hard as I could, and it was it
was quite It was quite cool, but definitely on the right.
(20:08):
It was. It was a cool moment for sure.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I didn't even know what kayak cross was. But it
looks like a BMX sort of start, isn't it what
you say out there? And then this ramp drops down?
Is it a new sport?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
It's kind of evolved, so basically it evolved.
Speaker 5 (20:24):
From I think bout a cross basically bow to cross,
so it makes sense, which we used to race quite
a lot of on natural rivers, so.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
We'd go and you know, and we'd have a kayak
competition festival kind of thing, and you know, we go
in and build a ramp out of palettes or whatever,
and then everyone starts and just races head to head
against each other down like a whitewater rapid, so probably
a bit more intense white water than what, you know,
(20:59):
what we race on at the moment in Paris or whatever.
And then that's kind of evolved to then going around
these the boys to basically make it fit an Olympic context.
So this is the first time that's been in the Games,
but we've been racing it on the World Cup circuit
for I don't know the last six seven years, six
(21:21):
years probably, and then yeah, it's been kind of evolving
as we go, and then it's it's debut in Paris
I think was a bit of a success hopefully. So yeah,
it's pretty cool sport.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Especially for you, Yes, for me, yeah, are you One
of the nice things about your sport is that it's
brought you into collision with Courtney. That must be a
real bonus. Yeah, yeah, she's a kayaker as well.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
She is yeah, yeah, originally from Todonga, So yeah, met
her obviously through the sport, and yeah, she's pretty cool.
It was it was cool to have her in Paris
and pretty special because she's been a big part of
the journey. So she was with me when I didn't
quite make it to Tokyo, didn't succeed basically at the
(22:14):
our final selection race of the series, and she was
there and you know, for a shoulder to lean on,
and yeah, it was pretty coolder to then qualify at
the start of this year and then have her there
when it all it all went well in Paris and
hopefully we can get it to La to the next
one and we can both needed to get.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Well for a person in a one person kayak. You've
got a lot of people on your crew riding on
that boat with you, haven't.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, And it's.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Been fantastic talking with you, with you all the best
and the competitions following on from the Olympics, all the
world Championships and everything. And you've got another song for
us to finish with. What are we listening to as
we go out?
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, I got a bit of shape shifter, so just
you know, like bring up up the vibe a little
bit after the fat pretty strop. So yeah, fort a
shape shifter.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That's great. I've been talking to Olympic gold medalist Finn
Butcher and wishing you all the best, Finn, and thanks
for being part of real life. I'm John Cowen, looking
forward to being with you next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
For more from News Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News talk s ed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News talk z ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Did I welcome to real Life? I'm John Cown. There
were lots of moments during the Paris Olympics that made
Kiwis feel very happy and very proud, and one of
the best was seeing Finn Butcher fly down the course
to in the first ever kayak cross Olympic gold medal.
Congratulations Finn, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I mean it's a little while now since Paris, but
is it's still a buzz in your head.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It is, Yeah, it is. It sunk in a bit
more than I had, you know, straight after and the
weeks following that. Yeah, I'm still still buddy stoked about it.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, I'll let your wallow in those memories a little
bit more because I have don't think I've ever seen
anyone as happy in my life. I know, your muscles
in your arms supposed to have been tired, but those
grim muscles on your face were working so hard. Yeah.
Any real standout emotions and memories from that time.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I think just a hell of a lot of pride
and happiness and yeah, I mean, you know, even some
moments thinking back on the whole the whole journey and
my whole kind of kayaking career and life and everything,
and having the people, lots of people there that have
(01:40):
been a big part of all of that, and I think, yeah,
it was just pretty special moments. And you can't really
put it into words that loads of people will bass
me how did I feel in that moment where I
crossed the finish line. But it's just like the most
insane feeling you'd ever imagine. And I think, yeah, I
(02:01):
guess when you work really hard for something and then
you also, I've experienced you know, lot of failures, I
guess you could call them, but you know a lot
of ups and downs, and then when the big one
comes and you know, you perform the way you wanted to. Yeah,
it's pretty cool feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah. I mean, you didn't just pick up a paddle
last week, did you. It was twenty years of competitive
kayaking to get.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
To that point pretty much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah. And I was also thinking, there's there'll be a
lot of times when you don't have people on the
sideline like your dad, but you had you had a
big squad and it was lovely. You know. One of
the things that put a lump in my throat was
seeing you congratulate, you know, hagging your dad giving and
putting the medal around his neck. Yeah, and everything, because
(02:54):
he's been a big part of the journey.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
A yeah, yeah, Mum as well, Like, yeah, I think
having having them there was pretty special. And you know,
like I'm just super lucky to have parents. I do, because.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I mean a lot will tell us about Wendy and Dale.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
About Windy and Dale, yeah, they're pretty they're pretty key people,
and I suppose in my life obviously, but they've supported
me without any question basically since since the start. And
you know, like I think they've always just told me,
like the only thing they'd ever want and life is
to see their kids find something that they're passionate about
(03:36):
and and be happy and give it everything they can.
And there they supported me that whole the whole time
with that, and so I we obviously I actually grew
up in Alexandra in Centratago and they ran wedding and
function center and cafe, so they were kind of in
(04:00):
the hospitality business and basically worked like wreck their fingers
to the bone, especially in the summer season. So when
the weddings were rolling and the cafe was pumping in
the summer, they'll be doing like one hundred hour weeks
kind of just not not barely stopping and sacrificing a
(04:24):
lot to financially send me overseas or or up the
country or something to go and race or train, and
and there was never any question. It was always just
you want to do it, you're passionate about it, and
you're you're happy, and you know we'll support you. And
(04:45):
like you know, we didn't we didn't have a lot
of money. It was just, yeah, they just worked hard.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I've heard them say that supporting you as their hobby. Yeah,
but I suppose it's only fear though, because they gave
you the bag in the first place. I believe he
was putting you at a canoe when you're about three
years old and pushing you out onto Lake Duncton.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah. Yeah, so well Dad was always into multi sports.
He did the Coast to coast a couple of times
and or a few times, and a few different things.
And yes, we always had kind of kayaks around and
bikes and you know with all good go on hikes
or whatever. And yeah, I think I must have been
pretty young when they first put me in a kayak
(05:28):
and just pushed me out into like dune some with
a bit of string tied to it so they could
pull me back in. So it's always been there.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
As you're looking around when you won your gold medal,
it would have been great to see your sister and
your parents and your girlfriend and a big crowd of supporters.
But I bet you wish that Alan sarge Hoffman was there.
Tell us a bit about sarg Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I'm already tearing up just even thinking about him, to
be honest.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
He's a big player and in the in the community,
you know, like he when I was growing up in Alexandra,
he lived in Wanaka with his wife Kirsty and their
two boys, Neck and Mike, and you know.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
They were kind of involved in the community. And I
suppose starting to describe how he was like the community
as a whole, as it's a small sport and you know,
like it relies on people's passion to keep things going
and get more people into it and things like that,
(06:35):
and he was just a huge driver of that. Him
and Percy were running a lot of the races and
things like that and up at hardware or whatever, and
just the real driver in the community. And then they
moved up to why like a white and on the coast,
so I didn't see too much of them. And then
he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is you know,
(06:59):
basically terminal and was given sort of six to nine
months to live. And basically, like he he just didn't
let him didn't let it get him, and he just
kept working as hard as he could. And he was
a big part of We've got a whitewater course in
Tikapo just out of Lake Tikeapo. So when they built
(07:23):
the canals, they divert the river and yeah, we've got
a course on that river. So he was up in
Tikapo every single weekend, just like digging away with his
digger and moving all sorts of rocks and it was
just and he was just the type of person that
would do anything for you, and he was so supportive
(07:47):
of everyone and again just wanted to see people be
happy and succeed, and succeeding didn't necessarily mean winning anything.
It was just enjoying paddling and getting out there and man,
he was, yeah, an absolute legion. It's quite hard to
describe him because he's just he's just like a real
(08:07):
I don't know if I'm allowed to swear or not,
but get done, you know, like how you just got
it done and without question, he would do it.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
You met SARJ. Hoffmann on your first event. Would you won?
Of course when you were nine years old.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
So we had a we had a Novice Salem race
down on the on our local river, the manahu Care
and Alexander and during the Blossom festival, and yeah, it
was kind of my introduction and then yeah, Serge was
running it and for help of others, and yeah, it
(08:43):
gave me a chocolate fish because I won. And and
you know, at the end of it, he said, I've
got this kayak. It's pretty beat up, but you know,
kayak can pedal and a espray deck for I don't
know what it was for hundred bucks or three hundred
bucks or something. And you know, if anyone's interested, and
I was kind of I don't. I don't really know
(09:04):
if I you know, pul Dad's arm or or he went.
You know, I think he went. You know, if you're
keen on this, like, go and talk to sergeant. You know,
we can buy that boat and you can get into it.
And so yeah, there you go. We I went up
and yearned to him and went up to hardware the
(09:24):
next week or something and bought this boat off him,
and that was it.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Still got it, You've still got it, still got it,
you fitted it?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yeah, yeah, but it was just an old so they
used to be for meat as long they cut them
down in size now, but yeah, and an old danger
which yeah, but we've still got it in the shed.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Well, I've been reading back through some old clippings and things,
and you know, as I say, it's been twenty years
of competing. And yeah, I mean you you were you
were an international sportsman right back at high school. You're
off to Canada. Yeah, that must have been a real
buzz for a young fellow.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, it was pretty cool, pretty cool. So yeah, I
mean sort of probably weren't wasn't racing it when I
was nine, but you know, you're just getting into it.
But yeah, when I went to high school, we we
managed to tee up a trip to go to Canada.
And first time we went, we did a like a
(10:27):
whitewater camp in Ottawa, so on the Ottawa River in Ontario,
and and that was pretty cool. We went to La.
We had one of my friends at school with kayaking
friends that his mum's Americans, so we stayed at their
old place in la and then went across to Canada.
It was pretty cool and just like experiencing the other
(10:49):
side of the world for one part of the world
and being able to kayak on these famous rivers with
all these famous white water white water guys. And then
the next year, I think I got to go and
race the like a pre junior World's race when I
was kind of I made the junior junior team and slalom,
(11:12):
so yeah, it was it was pretty cool. But we
were we were just like flying across the States, just
the two of us, me and my friend by ourselves.
And he's a bit younger than me as well, so
I think he would be I must have been fourteen
maybe and he would have been like eleven or no,
(11:33):
must've been twelve. And like I mean, we got dropped
at the airport and then picked up the other end.
It wasn't like two but the border patrol was pretty
they weren't that stoked about it. Because I think people
been running away from home, so they they were clued
onto it and made us call called back to La
and make sure that we're all We're all good and
(11:55):
we weren't just running away from whoever was looking after us.
But yeah, it was pretty cool, and I think, yeah,
I mean I might have been a bit older than that.
I might have been fifteen. I don't really remember that.
Still pretty yeah, he was. Max was definitely young, young fella.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
If you've just tuned in my guest tonight, it's gold
medalist Finn Butcher, and I'll be talking to him more
about his adventures in kayaking and finding out a bit
more about how he got to Paris to win that gold.
This is real life on news Talk, said B.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on Newstalk, SEDB.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Welcome back to real life on John Cown talking to
gold medalist Finn Butcher. And he's picked that song for us.
What are we listening to their? Finn?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh, a bit of fat, pretty strop pull the catch.
So yeah, it's a nice one. Just kind of reminds
me of home. I've been away for a fair chunk
of the year, so for some reason. In the last
few weeks, I've just been ripping into the Kiwi song.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So, yeah, do you get homesick? Uh?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Oh, not necessarily homesick, but definitely yeah, I definitely want
to go home at some point of the year. And
it's actually funny you say that, because when I was
a kid, I got so homesick I couldn't even like
stayed a friend's house down the road kind of thing.
And then yeah, like we talked about before going to
the States by ourselves or traveling from la to Canada
(13:22):
by ourselves, and it was It's a real funny thing
that Mum always joked about it and went like, how
did you go from a kid that couldn't even leave
leave his parents' house to go stay at a friend's
house and then you're going away overseas by yourself.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
You would have had a very very miserable life if
you'd never got over that homesickness, because I don't know
how many times, how many times would you have been
to Europe now you must have been going spent every
year for donkeys.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Who Yeah, I raced I think twenty basically twenty thirteen
through to nineteen, and then we didn't travel in twenty
twenty and then twenty two one since to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Now, so apart from the COVID years, you've been overseas
is kayaking every year. It's an amazing investment in your career,
but it's paid off. I imagine there's only so far
you can go and building your muscles and your and
your technique. But what about the psychology. Is that something
(14:26):
you've had to work on?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, massively? Yeah, it's huge. I mean I think, like
all high performance sport to a degree, like you know,
everyone's on such a level playing field in terms of
the physiology, you know, strength, power technique, and you know, looking.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Looking at your body, looking at my body, we're not
on a level of paying field. Okay, I suppose you're
comparing yourself with those other athletes.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, you know, I guess in our sport, we've got
like there's a lot of different body types and people
rely on different things. You know. It might be it
might paddle a bit more technically so they don't lose
as much speed, so they don't have to rely on
their power or strength as much. But like everyone's best
(15:18):
run or best performance is not far away from each other.
It's just can you do that consistently in the moment
that really matters, you know, like that, and that's that's
what makes the difference. And it was funny. I was
talking to my psych actually this morning. So I've been
(15:38):
really lucky.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
To have a sports psychologist.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Yeah, yeah, so I've been I've been really lucky to
have access to a sports psychologist for quite a long
time now, like since twenty sixteen. Yeah, and so we've
been working together for a long time, and you know,
we were just sort of debriefing the games and how,
(16:02):
you know, how it might the result might change the
way that I look at myself or how other people
look at me, and how I approach training or racing,
and how it all affects things. But also like the
sport I described it to her, and it's kind of
like you're constantly solving a puzzle, but at the same
(16:26):
time you're solving it, the parts of the puzzle that
you've already solved at a different time have changed. So
the puzzles constantly.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
There's always something new, always something new that you're working
on exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
And then also the things that you might think mentally
that you've you've worked on and you've kind of got
them on block and you've got that sorted. They change
because you change. The context changes, the race changes, the
way that you look at yourself change changes, and and
everything is just so like it's quite fluid, and basically
(17:01):
like what we're trying to do is like solve this
puzzle and try to at the time that really matters,
have the puzzle as whole as we can with as
many tools as we've got, and then be able to
nail it at that moment. It's like it's kind of
what keeps you coming back because there's no time where
(17:24):
everything's perfect. And then you know, like.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Twenty years thwenty years of competitive kayaking, you're still working
on getting this thing right.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, and you know me this year it's going to
be like I'm so I'm going to be so different
to Fin and twenty twenty eight and Fin in twenty
twenty eight is a completely different beast to twenty twenty
And it's just the way that things work, and it's
kind of like, I don't know, it's just fascinating how, yeah,
(17:56):
how you don't keep evolving or else you know, you're
not going anywhere.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I don't know whether you think about the psychology of
even before you start racing. But when you're sitting up
on the platform, before you do your six foot drop
into the water, you look like you'd already won.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
As they're introducing it, there was Joe what was his name, Joe,
Joe Clark. He looked like he was already in second place.
He had the stony serious look on his face. And
the German, I think is that Noah, he looked like
he was He looked like he was praying or apologizing
(18:34):
or something for coming third. And you look like you'd
already won. And I don't know whether that gives you
an edge or not, just that confidence of going into it.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, I think you know, we had, oh, I had
quite a simple mindset and game plan and the kite cross,
Like we knew the start was important and we knew that,
you know, like.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
That's where you want it, isn't it. That's where you
won it, right, Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And you know to start, well, you've got to have
you've got to be really intense, So you've got to
like be ready to move as soon as that buzzer
goes and the ramps dropping, get a bit of a
little bit of slide before everyone else, and then as
soon as you land, just going as hard as you
can and with not whatever happens, you're going. And actually
(19:25):
in the final, I didn't realize until I've seen some
slow mos that my second stroke, so I land on
the right and then the second stroke on the lift,
actually the blade, my pedal blade came up underneath the
check guy's bow. Yeah, And because of that, I let
go of my pedal on the lift so that I'm
(19:46):
pulling the stroke out of the water and my hand
comes off the blade and I transitioned back into the
right stroke, and as I'm doing the right stroke, I
grabbed the shaft again and then go back to the
lift and it's just like I didn't even realize, but
because I was just so intent and focused on just
going as hard as I could, and it was it
was quite It was quite cool, but definitely on the right.
(20:08):
It was. It was a cool moment for sure.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I didn't even know what kayak cross was. But it
looks like a BMX sort of start, isn't it what
you say out there? And then this ramp drops down?
Is it a new sport?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
It's kind of evolved, so basically it evolved.
Speaker 5 (20:24):
From I think bout a cross basically bow to cross,
so it makes sense, which we used to race quite
a lot of on natural rivers, so.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
We'd go and you know, and we'd have a kayak
competition festival kind of thing, and you know, we go
in and build a ramp out of palettes or whatever,
and then everyone starts and just races head to head
against each other down like a whitewater rapid, so probably
a bit more intense white water than what, you know,
(20:59):
what we race on at the moment in Paris or whatever.
And then that's kind of evolved to then going around
these the boys to basically make it fit an Olympic context.
So this is the first time that's been in the Games,
but we've been racing it on the World Cup circuit
for I don't know the last six seven years, six
(21:21):
years probably, and then yeah, it's been kind of evolving
as we go, and then it's it's debut in Paris
I think was a bit of a success hopefully. So yeah,
it's pretty cool sport.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Especially for you, Yes, for me, yeah, are you One
of the nice things about your sport is that it's
brought you into collision with Courtney. That must be a
real bonus. Yeah, yeah, she's a kayaker as well.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
She is yeah, yeah, originally from Todonga, So yeah, met
her obviously through the sport, and yeah, she's pretty cool.
It was it was cool to have her in Paris
and pretty special because she's been a big part of
the journey. So she was with me when I didn't
quite make it to Tokyo, didn't succeed basically at the
(22:14):
our final selection race of the series, and she was
there and you know, for a shoulder to lean on,
and yeah, it was pretty coolder to then qualify at
the start of this year and then have her there
when it all it all went well in Paris and
hopefully we can get it to La to the next
one and we can both needed to get.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Well for a person in a one person kayak. You've
got a lot of people on your crew riding on
that boat with you, haven't.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, And it's.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Been fantastic talking with you, with you all the best
and the competitions following on from the Olympics, all the
world Championships and everything. And you've got another song for
us to finish with. What are we listening to as
we go out?
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, I got a bit of shape shifter, so just
you know, like bring up up the vibe a little
bit after the fat pretty strop. So yeah, fort a
shape shifter.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That's great. I've been talking to Olympic gold medalist Finn
Butcher and wishing you all the best, Finn, and thanks
for being part of real life. I'm John Cowen, looking
forward to being with you next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
For more from News Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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