It was not the moment he shared with his beaming lookalike dad as two Central Otago men tried to find the right words to express their pride and joy.
It was not even the realisation that the heavy thing around his neck was a gold medal.
The moment it really sunk home for Finn Butcher that he was an Olympic champion was what you might describe as a modern sporting moment.
"One of the coaches just showed me that Chris Luxon posted a photo of me on his Instagram," Butcher told the Otago Daily Times from Paris yesterday.
"That’s crazy. What the hell, man?
"I’m just a kid from Alexandra. Is this real?"
Butcher, 29, produced a stunning performance in his first Olympic appearance to claim gold in the kayak cross yesterday.
It is a wild sport, featuring four athletes dropping off a ramp and into the whitewater, and battling it out to the finish, but the Dunstan High School old boy stayed calm the whole way.
When he spoke to the ODT, he was heading back to the Olympic Village and preparing for a big celebration at New Zealand House in London.
"It’s been madness, to be honest.
"It’s unreal. Pretty epic. But I’m still lost for words and still don’t really believe I’ve got this thing hanging around my neck.
"You just look at this gold medal and, yeah, it’s crazy."
He got in a kayak for the first time aged 9.
He learned his early trade on an irrigation race near the family orchard and was mentored by revered Alexandra coach Gordon Rayner, who, with wife Mary, was in Paris to see his talented student shine.
Having the Rayners, parents Dale and Wendy, and sister Meg — along with other rowdy New Zealand supporters at the canoe slalom venue — was an immense boost, he said.
"It’s so cool to be able to represent Otago, Central Otago, Alexandra — all those people who have helped me and got behind me.
"Central Otago shaped me. We had such an awesome upbringing. So many cool people, cool adventures, epic place to grow up.
"I’m stoked to be able to bring a gold medal home."
The New Zealand supporters were chanting "there’s only one Finn Butcher" as they left the venue yesterday.
"I’ve lost my voice", his father told waiting media.
"We were just screaming from one end of the stadium to the other.
"We’re so proud of him."
Hours after Butcher’s gold medal performance, the New Zealand women’s sprint team — featuring former Wanaka rider Ellesse Andrews — won silver on the cycling track.
hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz , Sports editor
