Not for the first time, Amber Rutter finds herself in the spotlight in the build-up to an Olympics. ‘It seems that each time there is some sort of dramatic story to be told,’ says the British skeet shooter with a smile.
Three years ago, that story was one of heartbreak as Rutter – then known by her maiden name of Hill – tested positive for Covid the night before she was due fly to Tokyo, ruling her out of the Games.
This time, though, her tale has a happy ending. Not only has the 26-year-old bounced back from her Tokyo torment to book her place in Paris, she has made the Olympic team two months after giving birth.
‘It’s an amazing achievement to be an Olympian again having just had a baby,’ says the remarkable Rutter, sitting with her son Tommy and husband James at her Berkshire home the day before the official Team GB announcement.
‘My life is a little bit chaotic, but we are making it all work and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have a new reason for doing it all now. My whole mentality is completely different.’
Amber Rutter has booked her place in Paris less than two months after giving birth
Rutter (left) missed out on the last Olympics after testing positive for Covid a day before she was due to fly out to Tokyo
Rutter finished sixth at Rio 2016, then was the top-ranked athlete heading into Tokyo 2020
Rutter’s mentality first altered, she admits to Mail Sport, in the aftermath of her Olympic nightmare in 2021. That negative experience made her realise there is more to life than medals and that ‘you’re a person before you’re an athlete’.
It is why the former world No1 had no qualms about taking time out of the sport to get married and start a family, however much it would disrupt her preparations for Paris, which she qualified for way back in September 2022 by winning the European title.
‘Tokyo was the hardest moment of my life,’ recalls Rutter, who made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 aged 18. ‘Towards the end of that year, I got myself into quite a dark place. I resented the sport and I wanted to quit altogether.
‘I had never experienced the sadness and depression that I had after those Olympics. I completely lost myself.
‘But I realised in those hard times that I was putting so much of my life on hold for the idea of the Olympics and how unhealthy that was.
‘I learnt that life didn’t have to be centred around just competing. I always knew I wanted to be a mum and it has been a real priority for me put those areas of my life first, like getting married and having kids. That is exactly what I have done.’
However, while the Olympics may have dropped down her priority list, Rutter never doubted she would take up her place in Paris. Even when she discovered she was pregnant last autumn, she instantly worked out how many days were between her April due date and the skeet women’s final on August 4.
‘I was always confident that as long as the birth went smoothly, it would always be a possibility for me,’ says Rutter, who continued to train until she was 28 weeks pregnant. ‘Births don’t always go to plan, but thankfully for me, it very much did.
Rutter says her life is a ‘little bit chaotic’ but insists that she wouldn’t change it for the world
Rutter announced the birth of her and husband James’ baby boy Tommy back in April
Amber and husband James tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Thailand in February 2023
‘I was back shooting about four weeks afterwards and I honestly feel like I could have shot sooner. But it was just giving that time for myself and my body to heel and to recover properly.
‘Thankfully, shooting isn’t the most physical sport, it’s more of a mental sport. That is what has allowed me to get back into the sport so quickly.
‘Since getting back in, I haven’t really felt any different. Training has been going really well. It really has been like I never stopped.’
While Rutter was sure she would soon be picking up a gun again, she was less certain about how she would adapt to her new role as a mother. ‘I think I had held one baby before having Tommy,’ she laughs.
‘The first couple of weeks you just have no idea what you are doing. But over the last month I have got to grips with it and I am absolutely loving it.
‘I am so lucky that he is generally quite an easy baby. He is making my life and my husband’s life a lot easier as we navigate through this busy time.
‘Sleep is the only thing I have been struggling with. The first four weeks were very difficult but just leaning on my partner and working together through the night feeds has really helped.
‘Thankfully, in the last few days, he has actually been sleeping through the night, so training is going even better than it was and so is the sleep!’
Next week, Rutter will put her new dual role as a mother and elite sportswoman through its biggest test yet when she leaves Tommy for the first time to take part in a shooting competition in Crete.
Amber, is one of Team GB ‘s most decorated shooting athletes with multiple medals at world and European level
‘It is more of a trial run to see how I feel with leaving Tommy and getting any tears or emotions out of the way,’ admits Rutter, who is a National Lottery-funded athlete. ‘But I haven’t actually competed since last year so it will also be good to get back into that routine.’
As for the Olympics themselves, Rutter has already decided she will not take Tommy with her to France.
‘As much as I would love my family and Tommy to be there cheering me on, if he cries, my focus will just be directly on him,’ she admits. ‘Having that distraction will just be too much for me to deal with as a mum.
‘I know that Tommy is going to be well looked after while I am away. We have a whole list of people dying to have him.
‘He will always be in my thoughts. There be lots of FaceTime calls checking in on him. But when I am there, I am there to do a job. I am prioritising performance.’
How exactly she performs remains the great unknown given Rutter’s lack of competitive action. She finished sixth at Rio 2016, then was the top-ranked athlete heading into Tokyo 2020 before disaster struck.
Now ranked 14th, largely due to her inactivity, even being picked for Paris should be seen as a success. But Rutter is not wired to think like that. Instead, the sharpshooter is eyeing a golden gift to take home to Tommy.
‘I am there to win,’ adds Rutter. ‘I am always going for gold, no matter what competition I enter, but especially for the Olympic Games. The only reason we are there is for that gold medal.
‘Ultimately, coming home to Tommy is the prize. But if I was able to bring back that gold medal, and just the fact that I’ve been able to do something like that in such a short time frame, it would really be the cherry on top.’
Amber Rutter receives funding from the National Lottery, who raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport — from grassroots to elite level.
This enables her to train full-time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support, which is essential to help her on her pathway to Paris 2024. To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
