Olympic champion Finn Butcher finally wins a World Cup event
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand paddler Finn Butcher has won the Kayak Cross gold medal at the World Cup event in the Czech Republic.
Butcher, the Olympic champion, ended his long wait for a World Cup title as he stormed to victory in the final.
He headed home ahead of Martin Rudorfer of the Czech Republic and Manuel Ochoa of Spain.
"I had a bit of a slow start to the World Cup in kayak cross. I talked to my coach yesterday of just letting it go and putting any expectations away. Just sending it," the 30-year-old from Alexandra said.
Since making his international debut in 2012, Butcher has picked up three silvers and one bronze, but a World Cup gold had eluded him until today.
"I really wanted to approach the kayak cross with no expectations. Sometimes I can get too caught up in the tactics, like what I should be doing or what I need to be doing and then I take too long to make a decision.
"Prague is my favourite World Cup race, I love coming here and I love racing here," Butcher said afterwards.
"It's epic to take away a win and it's my first World Cup win as well."
The Canoe Slalom World Championships are in Slovenia at the end of August.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks v France: How weakened touring side cheats rugby out of a proper contest
Strategically, leaving so many of their frontline troops to rest and recover in the French summer may ultimately prove to not be an effective form of cheating. Not taking the opportunity to test themselves against the All Blacks in a three-test series may turn out to be an opportunity lost – a blown chance to galvanise a team that was looking frighteningly good by the end of this year's Six Nations. Ireland showed the value of going all-in, when they brought every man and his dog to New Zealand in July 2022, won the series and then embarked on a 17-test unbeaten streak that ended in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final. French coach Fabien Galthié is bringing a weakened line up into the first test. Photo / Photosport Maybe it will prove to be the masterstroke coach Fabien Galthié hopes it will be – a way to preserve the mental and physical vigour of his best, while finding the odd gold nugget buried deep within his squad here in New Zealand. Whether resting so many players this July helps or hinders France is not the point, though. This shouldn't be happening. It contravenes the goodwill agreement between the top-tier nations about the respect they show for international rugby and while the term cheating may be harsh, it is accurate. It is cheating the system of reciprocity – damaging its credibility and integrity. The deal is that international rugby is best v best, and what France have done is turn up to the All Blacks' house party with a bottle of unremarkable Côtes du Rhône when they promised to bring Saint-Émilion. They will still have the temerity to expect the All Blacks to bring something splendid from the Gimblett Gravels next time they are due in Paris. It is cheating the All Blacks out of the contest they wanted. It is cheating New Zealand Rugby out of the marketing story it needs and hampering its future ability to sell tickets. And it is cheating the fans as it's a dupe: a straight consumer case of not being sold what was advertised. The punishment for France will likely be a difficult three weeks in which they battle to contain an All Blacks team that should have too much pace, power and experience for them. It could get embarrassing – scorelines that run away on them – but obviously the French aren't overly worried about that, or they wouldn't have selected the way they have. They have come with a mindset that they have nothing to lose as they threw the series away the instant they picked the squad they did. Now they believe they only have a potential upside to think about which is the possibility of this rag tag group of good but inexperienced players finding a way to punch way above their weight. All Blacks coach Scott Robertson during the squad naming for 2025, held at the Coastal Rugby Club in Taranaki. Photo / Dean Purcell All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has sidestepped making any pronouncement on the issue, preferring instead to frame the series as what his side can gain from it rather than focusing on what they have been denied. But then what else could he say or do? This whole business is above his pay grade and he will be judged just the same as he would have had the French brought the heavy cavalry rather than the light infantry. His goals remain unchanged, but the ability to achieve them has unquestionably become significantly easier. This is now a series in which the All Blacks can get their scrummaging honed – the timing fractionally more precise and the all-important art of adapting to the referee and adjusting to his interpretations improved. It's a series in which they can lift confidence in their driving maul and their ability to defend it, and it's a series in which they can build familiarity with their attack patterns while tinkering with their midfield and back three set-ups. There will be the illusion of this being the big time – but on the field there will be a fraction more time for the All Blacks to pass and catch, a little bit of naivety to exploit at set-piece, a little bit of leeway to make the odd mistake and not be harshly punished for doing so. It all sounds great, maybe even a good thing that the All Blacks can open their season with a tough but underpowered opponent to give them a challenging but not overly intense means to feel their way into 2025. But again, whether playing France Lite is indeed a better way for the All Blacks to start their campaign, is a moot point. The French have cheated everyone. Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport. For live commentary of this weekend's All Blacks v France test, go to GOLD SPORT or iHeartRadio.
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Kiwi teenager Sam Ruthe has another crack at a sub-four-minute mile
New Zealand runner Sam Ruthe. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Tauranga teenager Sam Ruthe has another sub four minute mile in his sights as he prepares to compete at the famous Prefontaine Classic in the United States this weekend. In March, Ruthe became the youngest runner to break four minutes for the mile, with a 3m 58.35s performance at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium. Paced throughout by training partner and two-time Olympian Sam Tanner, Ruthe became the first 15-year-old to duck under the mythical benchmark for middle-distance running. The pair will line-up together again in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday in the International Mile which is a part of the Diamond League meeting. Now 16-years-old, Ruthe aims to be the youngest ever to break four minutes in the mile on US soil, a record currently held by Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Ingebrigtsen was 16 years and 250 days old at the time. Technically the B race at the meet, the International Mile does have some quality runners featuring 3:50 miler Cooper Teare of the US and the USA's top high-schooler Owen Powell. Shot-putters Tom Walsh and Maddison-Lee Wesche are also competing at the event. Anna Grimaldi stars in an ever growing para-program at the Prefontaine Classic. Competing in a mixed-classification 100m para. She'll line up against USA's Brittni Mason who finished ahead of Grimaldi at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games over the 100m T47. Mitch Joynt will also line up at the 50th edition of the Pre Classic in the 200m T62 / T64 Para. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Creating space in Rodney for cycle trails
Cycleways are often a hot button topic, but not in the Auckland district of Rodney, where plans are underway to build a 120k trail from Puhoi to Mangawhai for cycling, walking, running and even horse riding in some areas. Currently there are 23 'Great Rides' around the country, cycle trails that attract cycling tourism and stimulate local economies but none of them are in the Auckland Province. New Zealand marathon great Allison Roe is the founding Chairperson of the Matakana Coast Trail Trust, she spoke to Jesse about the issue. Photo: Supplied
