The first-ever Olympic whitewater kayak cross came to its conclusion Monday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium east of Paris with the first-ever champions crowned. In the end, it was Australia’s Noemie Fox in the women’s and New Zealand’s Finn Butcher in the men’s who would find themselves atop the podium in the history-making whitewater event.
Olympic kayak cross champions made in historic debut
Maybe it’s our algorithm, but kayak cross appeared to garner notable media interest and fanfare online heading into and through this stage of the Summer Games. Prior to the opening ceremony, the new event found itself on the likes of shows such as Good Morning America and held newswire headlines.
[ Canadian viewers can watch at CBC here ]
Fox family sweeps women’s gold
The inaugural event even had its share of sporting drama. Early in the knockout rounds the eventual women’s champion Fox had to defeat her older sister Jessica Fox, who had in the days prior won back-to-back gold medals in canoe and kayak slalom, in order to advance. With kayak cross, the Fox family stunningly swept whitewater gold in the 2024 games for Australia.
“You don’t really dare to dream this big but I really did this time,” Noemie Fox shared in an interview published on Planet Canoe. “I dared to dream to get to the Olympics and then to get to the final. When I saw in the last upstream gate that I was first, it was pure joy.”
[ Canadian viewers can watch at CBC here ]
Redemption for underdog Finn Butcher
On the men’s side, Kiwi Finn Butcher had to best 2016 Olympic slalom champion Joe Clarke who was a solid favorite to win the kayak cross. Butcher had competed in the slalom semi-final days prior, where a costly gate penalty kept him from advancing to the final in the traditional whitewater event. Kayak cross was his redemption, where he brought home the first ever Olympic gold in men’s whitewater for New Zealand.
“When I dropped off the ramp and I had a bit of clear water in front of me, I just went as hard as I could and to finish in front was insane,” Butcher stated in an interview published on Planet Canoe. “Coming out of the last upstream, I honestly couldn’t believe it so it is going to take a while to sink in.”
2024 Olympic Kayak Cross Medalists
Women’s Kayak
Gold: Noémie Fox, Australia
Silver: Angele Hug, France
Bronze: Kimberley Woods, Great Britain
Men’s Kayak
Gold: Finn Butcher, New Zealand
Silver: Joe Clarke, Great Britain
Bronze: Noah Hegge, Germany
Find complete kayak cross results at: Olympics.com.
Feature Image: NBC Sports YouTube
