All he gets is about 90 seconds.
A measly minute and a-half, but Finn Butcher knows if he can produce his best stuff in that time, he can create history by becoming the first New Zealand man to win an Olympic medal in canoe slalom.
The Otago paddler was yesterday named to compete in a black singlet in both the K1 discipline of canoe slalom and the new kayak cross event at the Paris Olympics in July-August.
There is not an ounce of cockiness in the 28-year-old former Dunstan High School pupil — his grounded Central Otago community would soon kick that out of him — but he sees no point in hiding his ambitions for Paris.
"I look at the slalom, and if I can do what I know, and race to my level and race consistently, I am in with a pretty good shot of fighting for those podium places.
"It’s the same with kayak cross. A bit of Otago get-it-done attitude, and stick in the fight and figure things out, and I think I’ve showed I can definitely be up there.
"To be able to go there with a couple of genuine medal opportunities is pretty exciting. I’m not just going to take part."
Butcher got the whitewater bug when he took part in a have-a-go day at the age of 9, and he has since flourished as a graduate of the Gordon Rayner school of excellence in Alexandra.
The Olympics were a vague dream until he was at university about a decade ago.
"I got to a point where I had to think, right, am I going to put everything into paddling and try and be really good at it?
"So about that point I realised I wanted to give it a good crack.
"I was a fair way down the pecking order in terms of New Zealand paddlers but then I got close to the Rio 2016 Olympics, and I just missed out in 2020.
"Now I can say I’m going, which is pretty cool."
Butcher was the K1 reserve for the Tokyo Olympics but his form since then presented a compelling case for selection for France.
He earned a New Zealand spot for a male paddler at the Games by finishing 13th in K1 and 11th in kayak cross at the world championships last year.
That spot was not his by right, but he won all six selection races this season, after claiming silver at the Paris round of the canoe slalom world cup, to ensure he was on the plane.
Those unfamiliar with Butcher’s sport can easily get a refresher course before the Olympics start.
Canoe slalom features paddlers on a whitewater course of up to 300m in length.
They pass through 18-24 upstream and downstream gates as quickly as they can, and they cop time penalties for touching or missing those gates.
Butcher is actually in a kayak — hence the K1 designation — so is seated and wields a double-bladed paddle, while a separate race is for those who kneel in a canoe (C1) and use a single blade.
Then there is the madness.
Kayak cross — previously known as extreme slalom — makes its Olympic debut in Paris.
What is it? Well, it’s sort of a cross between canoeing and stock car racing with a little bit of bare-knuckle boxing in the mix.
Instead of the usual individual challenge against the clock, four paddlers race against each other on a shortened course.
Picture lots of water being thrashed about, boats colliding, paddlers shouting and, eventually, a last man standing.
"People love seeing crashes and a bit of confrontation and blood," Butcher said, grinning.
"People love a bit of fighting, so it’s definitely a spectator sport."
Butcher won a silver medal in extreme slalom at the 2021 world championships in Bratislava, so he knows how to handle himself in the cauldron.
He hopes the Kiwi paddlers in Paris will help lift the profile of a sport that tends to battle away in the shadows a little in New Zealand.
While he has been to France several times and hit all the tourist spots, this will be his first Olympic experience, and he intends to make the most of it.
"You can go over there and let the whole thing sort of overwhelm you, or you can sort of block it out and pretend it’s a normal event.
"It’s really not a normal event. So I want to soak it all up and enjoy it, and use that to sort of boost my energy and that kind of thing.
"I’d love to get to some other events. I think I could probably sneak on to the athlete bus and get along to the 100m final or something."
Butcher is great mates with New Zealand paddler Amy Fisher and plans to cheer her on in the flatwater canoe sprint.
He will also keep a close eye on team-mate Luuka Jones, the 35-year-old great who won New Zealand’s first canoe slalom medal when she claimed gold at Rio in 2016.
Jones will be competing in her fifth Olympics — matching Valerie Adams and Barbara Kendall — and is something of a north star for the team.
"She’s obviously a pretty phenomenal athlete. Her mindset and the way she can lay things down on the big stage is pretty impressive.
"She’s also helped our sport to springboard into the High Performance Sport NZ set-up and get a bit more exposure and a bit more funding."
Butcher took a punt on his selection and last year bought a bunch of Olympic tickets.
He is looking forward to competing in front of his parents and friends from Alexandra.
"There should be a good crowd. I think Central Otago might show Paris how it’s done."
There could be another boost, too.
Butcher could yet have his partner, Courtney Williams, competing alongside him. She has a chance to grab a second New Zealand women’s spot in kayak cross at an Olympic qualifier in June.
A birthday party — Butcher turns 29 on Sunday — in Alexandra this weekend will give him the chance to celebrate his Olympic selection with his biggest supporters.
It will then be back to Auckland to train for a month before heading to Paris, where he will be based for a European season that includes world cup competition in Augsburg, Prague and Krakow before the Games.
