Salmon Leap’s Sean Butterly caps brilliant season with Olympic Hopes gold

Sean Butterly of Salmon Leap Canoe Club in Leixlip capped a tremendous season with gold at the recent 2025 Olympic Hopes Regatta in Racice, Czech Republic.

Lining out in the Under 17 Men’s K1 1000m, he produced a superb tactical race to clinch victory in a time of 3:38.266, with Germany’s Norwin Gruneich taking silver in 3:40.030 and Roman Orlov of Estonia coming home third 3:40.280.

For Butterly, who was heading into this event on the back of his stunning gold in the Junior Men’s K1 Long Course race at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor, Hungary, this was the perfect way to complete his year.

“This is one that I've been aiming for for a while now,” said the young Salmon Leap competitor.

“In my first year in Olympic Hopes in the 1000 meters I came fourth at Under 15, and then at Under 16, I came second, so now, to finally win it a few years later, it's very special.

“The race went exactly to plan. I knew that the Estonian athlete [Orlov], who came third, had a really strong finish, so I knew coming into the 200 meters, I needed to be a bit ahead of him and, if I could do that, I felt I would win.

“I waited until about 400 meters go and then I started pushing. With 200m left, I got level with the German guy [Gruneich] who had led from the start, and then I was able to just push on from there and come home first.

“It was a great feeling. It’s the one I've been thinking about for a while now, so it was amazing and kind of overwhelming as well,” he added.

Butterly also turned in a very strong display in the Under 17 K1 500m, picking up wins in his heat and semi en route to the A Final where he clocked 1:45.803 on his way to a fourth-place finish, just fractionally off Poland’s Mikolaj Kazmierczak and Great Britain’s Tom Hatton, who both finished up in 1:45.645.

“I did the 500m, and to be fair, I won my heat and my semi, and then I came fourth in the final, just 0.2 off a medal, which was quite annoying,” admitted Butterly, who was nevertheless, delighted with his overall form at this event and throughout the season as a whole.

Topping the podium in both the Czech Republic and Hungary this month have been the highlights in an excellent run for the young kayaker that also saw him scoop silver in Junior Men’s K1 Short Course and bronze in the K1 Long Course at the ECA Canoe Marathon European Championships in Ponte de Lima, Portugal back in June.

“I'm so happy with the way the season has finished,” he smiled.

“It couldn't have gone much better really. The two main events I was looking at, I won.

“There's definitely been a few ups and downs throughout the season, but it's very nice to end it on a really high note,” he said.

Butterly was the most experienced competitor among a young Irish squad at this latest international, which also included Sean Smyth, Sean Noud, Sadb Shannon, Caoilín Caffrey and Emily Donnellan.

Smyth, was another competitor to make his presence felt, as he emerged runner-up to Bulgaria’s Metin Ahmed in the Under 17 Men’s K1 1000m C Final after taking sixth place in the K1 500m equivalent.

Caffrey and Donnellan figured strongly in the Under 15 Women’s K1 1000m C Final, crossing the line in third and seventh respectively.

Delighted with the performance of Butterly and his team at the Olympic Hopes Regatta, Canoeing Ireland National Development Coach, Jon Simmons said:

“It’s a great result for Sean. It’s been an exciting journey at this regatta over the past three years, from placing fourth in the Under 15 age category to winning a silver medal at Under 16, and now the gold medal in the Under 17 K1 1000m.

“He’s had a fantastic season, progressing nicely and reaching his goals throughout the year, which he’ll be looking to develop further going into the 2026 season.

“The team, as a whole, achieved great results, with multiple personal best times and some great racing experience, which will help develop these young athletes going forward into the 2026 season. I’m really proud of this young team,” he said.

Butterly and his club mates will be heading into an intense period of training over the winter in preparation for another big year of international competition, starting with the ICF Junior and Under 23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Halifax, Canada at the start of July.

“Next season I'm, hopefully, going to be doing sprint on marathon, so the first race of the season is the Sprint World Championships in Canada,” said Butterly.

“That’s the main focus, the main goal for the year, to get there and try and push for the win,” he said.