Olivia Podmore inquest: 'They turned a blind eye' - family condemn sports leadership
Photo:
NZME/George Heard
The mum and stepfather of Olivia Podmore say Cycling New Zealand and High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ) chose medals over the welfare of their daughter.
This week saw the final few days of the coronial inquest into the death of the former Olympic cyclist.
Six months of harrowing evidence
revealed the enormous pressure she was under after unwittingly exposing an affair between a coach and another athlete - leading to stigma and isolation within her team.
Olivia died in a suspected suicide in 2021, one day after the Tokyo Olympics - which she wasn't selected for - ended.
Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore died in 2021.
Photo:
Supplied / Dianne Manson
A subsequent investigation into Cycling New Zealand (Cycling NZ) revealed bullying and a lack of accountability.
Olivia's mother Nienke and her stepfather Chris Middleton told RNZ's Susie Ferguson on
Saturday Morning
that the inquest revealed the institutions responsible for elite athlete care prioritised medals and image over well-being.
"You think, how could it possibly be allowed to happen in this modern time?"
"You know what's going on, yet they turned a blind eye."
While both Cycling NZ and HPSNZ expressed remorse during the inquest, her parents questioned the sincerity.
The coroner's findings are expected in the coming months, but the inquest has already revealed an alarming number of red flags.
A 2018 independent review revealed a
litany of failings
- not just among Cycling New Zealand's leadership, but deep systemic issues in the wider high-performance system.
Despite this, the report was "amended" by the national body ahead of the report's publication to exclude key details documenting the treatment of Podmore.
For Olivia's family, this pattern of ignored complaints and censorship raises a key question.
Despite Cycling NZ and HPSNZ's insistence that athlete well-being is now a top priority, Nienke and Chris said they have little faith in real change within the organisation.
The inquest revealed repeated missed opportunities to support Olivia. Emails were sent. Concerns were raised. But little was done.
Olivia Podmore died in August 2021 in a suspected suicide.
Photo:
Photosport
"There were quite a few, people that tried to alert people at the top. But it just got stonewalled every time."
Both organisations issued public statements
asserting that athlete wellbeing is now central to their strategy.
HPSNZ said it has "significantly reshaped its systems" since 2021, while Cycling NZ told the inquest Olivia's experience "should never have happened."
But the Middletons are calling for deeper accountability, including independent oversight and changes in leadership.
Podmore's mum Nienke Middleton speaks.
Photo:
NZ Herald/George Heard
"How do you suddenly change your culture and become a whole different beast?
"The advice wasn't taken then. So why would it be different?
Among the most heartbreaking revelations of the inquest was how Podmore was
treated after exposing a coach-athlete affair.
Team dynamics shifted sharply, with Podmore becoming isolated from peers and unsupported by staff. She was subjected to social exclusion and persistent rumours.
Elite sprint cyclist Olivia Podmore pictured with her mother, Nienke Middleton, at Christchurch Airport in August 2021. The Rio Olympian died in a suspected suicide at her Cambridge flat later that day.
Photo:
Supplied
"One of the things that people don't realise... after this coach-athlete affair was that for quite a few years - because they had named suppression like people actually thought Olivia was the one having the affair," said Nienke.
"So it was not only did she have the shame of being the whistleblower... she had the shame of that as well.
"A double whammy if you like."
Her mum believes the emotional strain was compounded by this distortion of events.
Nienke said her daughter did everything right, and despite battling stigma and rejection she kept training and racing.
"I'm just surprised that throughout this process with everything that was going on that she didn't actually lose her composure at all on the track or in the cycling environment.
"Whereas if it was myself, I probably would have, there would have been some big outburst or... but she never ever lost her load."
Elite cyclist Olivia Podmore died in August 2021 in a suspected suicide.
Photo:
Supplied
Although proud of her daughter,
Nienke said, in the end, Olivia was exhausted by the system she trusted.
"She's never had a proper platform to showcase how talented she was at cycling.
"She's never actually gone into an Olympic cycle with a proper chance and a clean slate to show what she can do."
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