Shot down by Covid, British golden girl’s Olympic dream
Athlete ‘broken’ after testing positive hours before flight
BRITISH gold medal hope Amber Hill was heartbroken last night after a positive Covid test wrecked her Olympic dream at the last minute.
The world number one skeet shooter, 23, was due to fly out yesterday – but despite having no virus symptoms and being double-jabbed, a preflight PCR test will see her miss the Tokyo Games.
She said: ‘Broken is about the only way to describe the pain I am feeling right now. After five
‘I will be back from this’
years of training and preparation, I’m absolutely devastated.’
Less than 24 hours earlier, she had posted a photo of her house draped in a giant message with England flags saying: ‘Good luck Amber. It’s coming home’– captioning it ‘The best send off’.
The youngest member of the shooting team, Miss Hill, from Bracknell, Berkshire, was introduced to the sport by her grandfather and made her Olympic debut at Rio in 2016, where she came sixth. But she was expected to challenge for gold this time.
Team GB’s chef de mission Mark England said: ‘My heart goes out to Amber and we’re just sad for her that she is unable to join us in Tokyo.’ Positive tests have already forced Team GB tennis players Johanna Konta and Dan Evans to withdraw.
Miss Hill added: ‘I will be back from this, but right now I need some time to reflect and take in what has happened.’
Last night journalist Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘They should cancel the Olympics. This is so unfair on these athletes. Best in the world – and dream ruined.’
Mr England remained upbeat about Britain’s medal hopes yesterday, saying: ‘This is a top team that’s going to hit the field. Every single sport, discipline, can win a medal.’
The Games are taking place in a state of emergency with draconian restrictions on athletes and officials. Tokyo’s Covid infections surged to a six-month high yesterday with the city logging 1,832 new cases just two days before the Games open.