From High Wycombe to Olympic glory: Amber Rutter on resilience, high performance, and mental health

Widely recognised as one of Britain’s most accomplished trap shooters, Rutter has carved out a trailblazing career in sport, collecting multiple World Cup medals and an Olympic silver along the way.

Her journey has cemented her status as one of the UK’s leading female motivational speakers. A vocal advocate for mental resilience, her story resonates not just with athletes but with organisations seeking insight from high performance speakers.

As one of the most in-demand mental health speakers on the circuit today, Amber Rutter now shares her story with corporate audiences across the UK and beyond.

In this exclusive interview with The Champions Speakers Agency, she reflects on the power of perseverance, lessons learned from setbacks, and what it truly takes to operate at the elite level.

Q: You’ve built a distinguished career in shooting—what first sparked your passion for this sport, and how did you decide to pursue it professionally?

Amber Rutter: “Shooting was something that I never expected to fall into. You don’t get into shooting to make it your full-time job or necessarily even have a career from it. For me, it was when I was 10 years old—my granddad used to shoot, and I decided to go along with him one weekend just as a bit of fun because I was really intrigued with the idea of shooting shotguns. I simply didn’t know what it was.

“So, I went along with him one weekend, and just the moment I hit my first clay, I had such an adrenaline rush. That for me was like, “You know what, I just want to spend some more time with him and see how far this will take me.” We started travelling the country, entering competitions, and he was just my number one fan. Honestly, he pushed me to do every competition I could and just enjoy myself. And honestly, it was the highlight of my week—just spending time with him.

“Before I knew it, I was, like I said, travelling up and down the country and ended up being scouted for the Great Britain team at the age of 14. They said, “Would you like to go to a World Cup?” And I was like, “Well, where is it?” They said, “Acapulco, Mexico.” And I was like, “Right, you’ve got me there—I’m in. I want to start travelling the world doing this.” It sounded amazing. So that’s where my journey started.”

Q: Elite athletes inevitably face setbacks—can you walk us through your approach to overcoming obstacles and staying on track toward your goals?

Amber Rutter: “Honestly, it’s taken a lot of time to manage setbacks, and my journey definitely hasn’t come without its difficulties. For example, unfortunately, I caught COVID the night before I was meant to fly to the Tokyo Olympics. For me, that was a moment where I was ready to give up—I wanted to quit the sport. I had no interest. Even the word “Olympics” just really, really triggered me, and I got myself into a really bad mental space.

“But for me, it was the idea of setting the example and moving forward with it in my life. I just knew that if I was ever going to do another Olympics, I had to do things differently. I had to really focus on what were the most important things in my life. And for me, that was my family. I really wanted to get married and have a baby and do all these important things in my life that I guess I’d always been putting off or putting to the side because I was always so focused on my career and getting to the Olympics.

“But when I had that change in my life, where I was prioritising the things that I really cared about, I realised that my mental health got better. I started overcoming these problems a lot easier by working with the team around me and just feeling happier in myself, which allowed me to perform at that high level and, I think, really see the success that I’ve had.”

Q: Drawing on your own experiences, what lessons in resilience would you offer to business leaders navigating today’s unpredictable market?

Amber Rutter: “I think the message I really like to share with my journey is—I’ve been shooting now for 17 years. I started when I was really young. I was really inexperienced and didn’t really have much direction of where this career path might lead me.

“But I think businesses can really take from these moments where you feel like you want to quit or give up or you don’t see a future in what you’re doing—just perseverance and keeping focused on why you started in the first place is so important.

“I look back at Tokyo and the experience of not going to the Olympics—almost like four years of work going down the drain—but then I look on the flip side. I think everything does happen for a reason. And I have now gone to the Paris Olympics, won a silver medal, and it just made it so much sweeter because I did it on my terms. I had my baby there, I had my husband, I had all the things that I truly cared about.

“So I think the message I really want to share with businesses is—you might hit hurdles, and it might be to the point where you feel like giving up, but perseverance is the most important thing. Being consistent and showing up every day will lead to good things.”

Q: In your work with audiences, what core principles of high performance do you emphasize, and why are they so critical?

Amber Rutter: “I like to teach audiences about high performance in terms of the amount of commitment that it takes. In my personal experience, the amount of commitment it truly takes to reach that highest level—it really is a marathon. Success doesn’t come overnight. It’s one of those things that is built little by little.

“In high-level sport, when I was at the start of my career, I would see these massive jumps—I would see massive leaps in terms of my progress and success. But then I would never get the consistency of keeping that level. Whereas now, being at the height of my career, being in top form and working on that world-class stage—the margins are so fine. We are talking about just little tweaks here and there, which really do make the difference.

“You don’t see these big leaps like we did at the start, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not making progress. So I would love to share that with businesses.”

Q: When you conclude a speech, what is the key message or insight you hope resonates most strongly with your listeners?

Amber Rutter: “I really hope that people can connect with me. I am not like a footballer, I am not like a professional rugby player—I got into this sport purely because I loved it. I really hope that my story can resonate with the listeners in these businesses because my journey has been one with many ups and downs—overcoming problems, stereotypes, there’s been so many challenges in my career.

“But being on the flip side now where I’ve won the silver medal at the Olympics, I would just love to share the details—how I really made all these bits and pieces come together to create this final result. Hopefully, I can just inspire people in whatever they’re doing—in their careers or their journey—that perseverance and determination will get you to where you want to go.”

This exclusive interview with Amber Rutter was conducted by Chris Tompkins of The Motivational Speakers Agency.