Greg Rutherford 'Gutted' Over Long Jump Performance - But The British Public Is Having None Of It

'Don't you dare apologise.'

Winning a bronze Olympic medal is beyond most of us but Greg Rutherford said he was “gutted” to come third in the long jump on Saturday night.

The London 2012 gold medallist was beaten by Jeff Henderson of the USA and Luvo Manyonga of South Africa.

No need to say sorry Greg... You did #TeamGB proud! #Rio2016 #bbcsupersaturday https://t.co/vxYyuw6boz

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 14, 2016

An emotional Rutherford told the BBC: “I’m gutted. I came here to win but couldn’t quite get it together.

“... I didn’t jump far enough and that’s difficult. I am pleased I went from fourth back into a medal position but bronze is not good enough for me.

“I am very disappointed.”

He also went on to tweet:

1/3 Morning to everyone back home. I'm still awake (4:30am) I truly cannot thank you all enough for the amazing messages of support.

— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) August 14, 2016

2/3 I'm really disappointed with today and that may sound mad to some, but I wanted this so bad and gave everything to try and win.

— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) August 14, 2016

3/3 When your best isn't good enough it hurts and I want to rectify what's happened. Thank you again for the love. It means so much

— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) August 14, 2016

But the British public was having none of it.

Twitter was full of messages of support for the athlete...

Really felt for Greg Rutherford in interview. On the verge of tears. Bless him. Be proud Greg! You're still a champ! 👏🏾🇬🇧 #Bronze #LongJump

— Nicole Reece (@Gloss80) August 14, 2016

Greg Rutherford's interview broke my heart. Be proud of yourself, Greg, you achieved something amazing #athletics #TeamGB #GBR #bronze

— Desktop Hippie (@desktophippie) August 14, 2016

Greg Rutherford disappointed and had a little cry for coming 3rd but you done as proud lad. Head Up High, pic.twitter.com/rUikkLZZVI

— Firstplacelast (@Firstplacelast) August 14, 2016

Don't you dare apologise @GregJRutherford . Your record speaks for itself,

— Mark Chapman (@markchapman) August 14, 2016

Dearest Greg Rutherford you did amazingly well to stay in the medals, that was a brilliant bronze and we are all very proud of you

— Mary C Kendrick (@mamacrow) August 14, 2016

Greg Rutherford , fantastic performance tonight , you should have been awarded one more jump , but please be proud of what you did !

— David Bamber (@dbamber_actor) August 14, 2016

What a champion Greg Rutherford is. But honestly he should be proud of what he has accomplished! ✊🏾 #TeamGB

— Abdullah Moallim (@El_Abdullah88) August 14, 2016

The evening also saw Jessica Ennis-Hill lose her Olympic title in the heptathlon, although she still walked away with silver.

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