Olivia Burke
Olympics fans are in uproar after a Team GB shooter was denied a gold medal due to a controversial judge's decision.
Viewers at home reckon Great Britain's Amber Rutter was 'robbed' of a gold medal at this year's Olympics in the woman's skeet final - even more so after watching a slo-mo replay of her event.
The 26-year-old sport shooter, who specialises in skeet, finished in a tie with Chile's Francisca Crovetto Chadid after shooting 55 shots from 60 targets at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux.
The event went to a shoot-off to determine who would secure gold, but they were still tied after three rounds - so each one of them was waiting for the other to miss and subsequently take the silver.
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When Rutter stepped up to take her shot, it appeared as though she hit both targets - but one of them was marked as a miss by Olympic officials.
The athlete - who only gave birth to her first child, son Tommy, three months ago - immediately tried to appeal the decision and demanded a review as she insisted she had struck the target.
Slow motion replays supported this - but because VAR technology is not being used in Paris for the event, it meant that the original ruling was final and that she had no ability to appeal, so Crovetto Chadid controversially came out on top.
Taking to social media in fury after watching what should have been a winning performance, one frustrated user said: "She did brilliantly well, but the officials made a massive mistake which cost her the gold."
Another added: "Robbed, such a shame deserved to win. Amateur stuff from the judges and the Olympics for not using replays."
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And a third wrote: "Well done Amber! We all know it should have been gold."
Although fans have been left furious that the judges did not overturn the decision, Rutter - who became the first Brit to bag a shooting medal at the Olympics - was still over the moon that she was taking home the silver.
And to make her triumph that bit sweeter, her husband surprised her by bringing their young son to watch her in Paris.
Speaking to the BBC about her victory and the prospect of a gold medal getting shot down in flames, Rutter said: "I would bet a lot of money that I did hit that last target. But this is a part of sport. It's not just shooting, it's not just myself.
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"There are so many sports and athletes which are impacted," Rutter continued. "There were so many other athletes in that final which were appealing targets and there was nothing to look back on to review the shots.
"It's something we have had in the past. We've had VAR systems in place so we are able to have a fair field of play. But unfortunately at the Olympics this time we haven't been able to have that."
However, she is still on cloud nine after walking away with a silver medal.
"It is just a dream," Rutter added. "The fact that I'm able to be a mum and come away with a medal for my country, I am on top of the world right now. I believe everything happens for a reason.
"It really was to prove a point and come back here and really chase down those medals.
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"The fact that I am here now, Tommy with me and with an Olympic medal, I don't know how it gets much better than this."
Rutter came sixth during her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, but missed out on competing in Tokyo in 2020 after she tested positive for Covid.
