Finn Butcher wins first ever kayak cross Olympic gold
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As he was launched off a two-metre ramp and into Vaire-sur-Marne white water course, New Zealand's Finn Butcher, a first-time Olympian, in a first-time Olympic sport known as a demolition derby on water, was on a collision course with history.
The 29 year-old paddler clinched the first ever kayak cross Olympic gold medal in Paris overnight with a thrilling win over British veteran Joe Clarke - considered the standard bearer of the new discipline - in the final.
Charging through the final gate on the slalom course to take out the win, Butcher looked back behind him as if he could scarcely believe he won.
After a pregnant pause, the Alexandra kayaker raised his arms in the air and celebrated wildly as his achievement sunk in.
"It's crazy, I still can't even comprehend it," an emotional Butcher said, gazing at the gold medal around his neck.
"As I exited the last upstream I was alone in front. It was wild, I just had this massive adrenaline dump, I think I'm still processing it."
Kayak cross, essentially a demolition derby in plastic boats, is among a new wave of extreme sports added to the Paris Olympic programme as part of a shift by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include more youth oriented action sports in the Games.
The event is an adrenalin-packed ride from start to finish. Grouped in heats of four, the kayakers plunge off a ramp more than two metres above the water and fight their way down the course. Along the way there are two upstream and two downstream gates for the paddlers to navigate, all while being bunted out of the way by their rivals.
The additional slalom event was added to the schedule at the expense of one of the canoe sprint races, the K1 200m - an event dominated by Dame Lisa Carrington since she won her first world title in the distance in 2011.
Photo: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
While it has meant Carrington will not get the opportunity to chase a fourth consecutive Olympic gold in the distance in Paris, in the end, the medal still went to New Zealand.
Both Butcher and women's exponent Luuka Jones, who finished fifth in the women's event overnight, believed the inclusion of the event worked to the strengths of New Zealand paddlers. It represented a return to their roots - the days spent knocking about in plastic canoes on the river.
Butcher said his results leading up to the Olympics also gave him confidence.
"I had some good results early on in the season, I was third in the first World Cup and sixth in the next one, so I knew I could battle with the top guys and once you're in the semi and in the final, anything can happen from there."
One of the first to greet Butcher as he came off the course was his long-time friend and training partner Jones, who only minutes earlier endured the heartbreak of missing out on the final in the women's event after her second placed finish in the semifinal was downgraded to fourth due to a fault at one of the gates.
