
Finn Butcher’s run in the men's K1 canoe slalom at the Paris Olympics has ended in controversy on Thursday (Friday NZ Time).
Butcher, 29, was penalised 50 points when the officials deemed he had missed a gate. It was a pity because his time of 90.40 seconds was one of the fastest of the semifinals and would easily have qualified him for a spot in the final-12.
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Instead, with a couple of other minor penalties added, he totalled 146.40 and finished 19th.
Butcher was surprised to be hit with the penalty, and when he finished his run he was initially celebrating with supporters. He said it did not feel to him like he had done anything to warrant the penalty.
“It didn’t feel like it from where I was, but they’ve got a few camera angles and can slow down the action.”
The Central Otago man said he was “pretty gutted” to bow out of the competition in that manner, but even so he struck a philosophical noted.
“It was a few millimetres. As disappointed as I am not to get to race in the final, that’s sport. It’s often decided by just a few millimetres.”
He said that overall he had enjoyed his first taste of the Olympics.
“It was awesome, to be racing with the best in the world. It was always my dream as a kid, and as an adult, to get to the Olympics.”
Butcher had started the competition promisingly, with a opening run of 86.35 seconds putting him fourth, before being bumped to seventh during the second run of the heats.
Like New Zealand’s top woman canoe slalom racer, Luuka Jones, Butcher will now turn his attention to the kayak cross, which starts on Friday (Saturday NZ Time) with time trial qualification.
“I’ll sit on what happened here for a bit, and then put it aside and move on to my other event.”