The third ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup of the 2024 season wrapped up in style in Prague, with New Zealand's Finn Butcher celebrating a breakthrough performance and claiming his first-ever World Cup win in Kayak Cross.

“World Cup three was a great way to finish off the first part of the series,” said Butcher. “It’s always a fantastic race in Prague with the organising team doing an amazing job, and the atmosphere pumping from the fans and commentators.”

The weekend marked the debut of the new Short Slalom format in Prague. “It was great to have some extra racing in the schedule now with the removal of heats,” said Butcher. “It was a very cutthroat event — if slalom could get any more!”

In traditional slalom, Butcher showed strong pace in the heats but narrowly missed the top 12 final due to two touches on his run. “The course was fun and challenging,” he said. “It was disappointing to finish the first block of slalom racing a bit messy, but also good to know that my preparation for the World Championships is on target.”

But it was Kayak Cross where Butcher truly shone. Battling through a stacked field of the top 32 athletes from time trials, he edged past Olympic Champion Joe Clarke in a dramatic opening round rematch, before executing clean, aggressive racing through to the final.

“I’m super happy with the mindset approach in the cross,” he said. “I wanted to approach it without any hesitation — and I managed to achieve that. The result fell where it did!”

As the World Cup season takes a mid-year break, Butcher heads into his World Championships preparation with momentum and confidence, especially in the emerging Kayak Cross discipline.

Article added: Thursday 03 July 2025