Team GB skeet shooter Amber Rutter questioned the absence of a VAR system in the 2024 Olympics final after controversially missing out on a gold medal on Sunday.
Rutter won silver in Paris but was cruelly denied the Olympic title after slow-motion replays appeared to show she hit a shot that went down as the crucial miss in a final shoot-off.
The 26-year-old finished the final tied on 55 shots from 60 targets with Chile’s Francisca Crovetto Chadid, sparking the dramatic shoot-off.
Three rounds passed, and the pair remained tied until Rutter was called to have missed a shot, which she was convinced she had hit.
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Replays seemingly showed that the Brit was correct to contest the call, but the judges didn’t overturn their decision, leaving her disappointed.
Crovetto Chadid then swept in, hitting both of her next shots to confirm Chile’s first-ever shooting gold medal in controversial circumstances.
The result left many viewers fuming and insisting the Team GB star had been robbed, while the revelation that no VAR or Hawkeye system was in use at the Olympics also baffled those watching at home.
Rutter – the first woman to win a shooting medal for Team GB – appeared on BBC1 on Monday morning, insisting she was proud of her achievement as frustrating as the outcome was.
“So I managed to get into a shoot-off for the gold medal match. We tied after our 60 targets and then we went into a shoot-off,” Rutter explained.
“We shoot a pair, and then we switch over. I was shooting against Fran from Chile, and I believe that I hit my last target.
“Unfortunately the ref didn’t see it. I turned round and tried to appeal it but the ref didn’t see it and they called it as a loss.
“From the reaction I’ve had today from people saying they did also see that target break, it is painful but this is what happens in sport. It’s just part of the game.”
Rutter – who was in the studio with Tommy, her first child who incredibly arrived just three months before she competed in Paris – also mentioned that she wasn’t the only skeet shooter who felt aggrieved.
She added: “I know it wasn’t just myself affected. There were other athletes in the final where they believe they hit shots as well and they weren’t given. It shows how VAR systems are.
“It’s something we did have but I’m not quite sure where it was this time? I just don’t want to take away all the hard work that has gone into this medal. It’s something to be celebrated, not stewed on.”
Rutter was surprised by her husband and Tommy after the final, and she confirmed that they were set to enjoy a day of sightseeing around Paris before heading back to the UK.
Her silver medal added to Nathan Hales’ sensational showing in the men’s trap shooting final, setting a new Olympic record to win gold.
