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NZ Herald
23-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Olivia Podmore coronial inquest ends with painful realities – ‘shocking' insights and ‘shameful' acts
'You've provided to me significant insight into the person Olivia was. She's been described as a talented athlete, bubbly, courageous. She was all of those things. 'I didn't know Olivia, but I feel like I know her now.' Podmore died in a suspected suicide the day after the Tokyo Olympics ended, August 9, 2021, after the track cyclist failed to qualify for that event following a Covid-19-interrupted selection process complicated by several controversies. Nienke Middleton did not shy away from the brutal reality of her life today in which there was no emotional relief, nor redemption through the inquest process. 'It's now been three years and eight months since the worst day of my life. That day I had no idea why Livi took her own life, the first I heard that Livi had been having health struggles was from Raelene Castle [Sport NZ chief executive] and Jacques Landry [then Cycling NZ chief executive] on a television interview the next day,' Nienke Middleton said. 'We had no idea what had been going on, nobody from Cycling NZ [CNZ] or High Performance Sport NZ [HPSNZ] thought it might be worth contacting me over the five years Livi was in Cambridge. 'People ask us what it's like, does the pain fade and have we managed to move on? The answer is always no to these questions, we just live with it. I miss Livi just as much as the day I lost her.' She and her husband Chris Middleton represented themselves in the inquest, which inflicted a 'massive' financial burden. They were surrounded by King's Counsels representing Cycling NZ and HPSNZ. Discover more 'If we had other lawyers representing, they didn't know Livy … a big part of the motivation of this was for Nienke," Chris Middleton said. 'It's her daughter. Nienke's the one who missed out the most out of anybody. That was a big driving thing as well. Like I won't say [it's] ruined Nienke's life, but blimey,' Chris Middleton said. The inquest began in Hamilton District Court on November 18 last year, and ran for almost three weeks before being adjourned to April 22 in Christchurch – where Podmore's family lived. The reasons for this adjournment can not be reported by the Herald. During the course of the inquest, extensive accounts of alleged bullying and marginalisation against Podmore within the Cycling NZ system emerged. This abuse was alleged to have begun after Podmore became an 'inadvertent whistleblower' in exposing an athlete/coach relationship during a training camp in Bordeaux in 2016. Evidence in the inquest alleged the now disgraced coach would subsequently 'berate' Podmore on personal subjects including her sex life, and whisper in her ear before races 'just don't f***ing crash'. Other teammates also allegedly sent bullying texts ordering her to 'keep your trap shut' and calling her a 'mental case'. Phil Podmore also spoke for the first time publicly today about the loss of his daughter. 'We hope Cycling NZ and High Performance Sport can learn from this tragic event. From what we have heard during the inquest this could have been avoided,' he said, struggling through tears. 'We will always be proud of Liv and amazed at the courage she showed, lasting as long as she did throughout all of this. We love her dearly and know she will live on through all the people she positively influenced in her short but wonderful life.' Throughout the inquest, lawyers for Cycling NZ and HPSNZ sought to place emphasis on personal factors outside cycling, such as Podmore's teen abortion and her parents' separation, as significant contributors to the athlete's mental deterioration. Yesterday, forensic psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio was questioned for the second time in this inquest about his placing 'causality' and 'weighting' the distressing incidents Podmore experienced within Cycling NZ over the challenges she faced in her personal life. Advertise with NZME. 'The impression I get is of a young woman who had given so much of her energy and time to succeed at sport. And felt that to some extent she'd been treated unfairly. So she put all her eggs in one basket. And that basket didn't get her to the Olympics. It didn't get her to where she wanted to go. And it seems that that led to despair,' Monasterio said. In HPSNZ's closing submission today, the organisation said it was 'deeply sorry for the distressing experiences Olivia endured during her time in the New Zealand high performance sport system. HPSNZ has always acknowledged that the conduct and behaviour she was subjected to was unacceptable and that it had a significant impact on her mental health'. Sport NZ chief executive Raylene Castle also thanked Podmore's family and friends for their 'integrity and grace' throughout the inquest. Castle said athlete wellbeing has been a key focus of HPSNZ strategy and significant work has been done over the past five years to provide dedicated health providers and invest in greater personal support for athletes and offer them a voice in the organisation. A statement by Cycling NZ was also read by its lawyer Paul David, KC, in which its current chief executive Simon Peterson offered his apology for what Podmore experienced during the 2016-18 period surrounding the Bordeaux controversy. The incident led to an independent review by Mike Heron, KC, which referenced an athlete being pressured to lie by Cycling NZ amid the controversy. In 2021, the Herald revealed that athlete was Podmore. 'The expert evidence before this inquest shows that elite sport is likely to face increasing challenges and difficult decisions in maintaining the wellbeing of athletes and others in high performance,' David said. 'Cycling's made significant changes and established a very positive environment in the pursuit of excellence in sport. It will continue its work. 'This process has weighed heavily on everyone … Olivia will not be forgotten. Her memory will ensure that Cycling NZ does all it can to make the pursuit excellent in sporting performance as enjoyable as possible.' Nienke Middleton ended the inquest by emphasising just how revelatory the court process had been in exposing alleged abuse and mismanagement of her daughter's sporting career and life. 'It's taken nearly four years to piece together the full story of what happened to my daughter. And now that we have, we are shocked,' she said. 'Shocked because Livi had asked so many people, particularly those in senior management, for help over the years. People who knew what was happening tried to help, they were not listened to and they, in turn, didn't last long at CNZ and HPSNZ. Codes of conduct breached, laws broken, the ends always justified the means.' Advertise with NZME. Nienke Middleton also referenced her daughter's final message on social media, in which the champion cyclist spoke of a 'cover-up' at Cycling NZ relating to the Bordeaux incident, and also the sacrifice of a teen abortion 'so that I could follow my Olympic dream'. 'Have Livi's last words been acknowledged and addressed? By some, yes, and we are hopeful that their sincerity leads to a healthier environment,' Nienke Middleton said. 'Others have kept denying or not recalling in order to protect themselves and their organisations. Shame on them. We remember the words of Dr Monasterio in December: culture eats policy. 'Well, culture starts from the top, not the PR company. We believe there is plenty still left to do in order to achieve the real changes needed.'
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Olivia Podmore coronial inquiry: Forensic psychiatrist grilled on Rio Olympian's final message and accusations of ‘weighting' Cycling NZ issues
Podmore died in a suspected suicide the day after the Tokyo Olympics ended, August 9, 2021, after the track cyclist failed to qualify for that event following a Covid-19-interrupted selection process complicated by several controversies. The lawyer representing HPSNZ, Stephanie Grieve KC, narrowed in on comments by Monasterio in the witness stand last November, and in his witness brief, in which she said he placed 'causality' on distressing incidents within Cycling NZ. Grieve said Monasterio did not put equivalent causality on personal factors outside cycling when 'it was not possible to determine precisely' what led to her depressive episodes. One of the 'traumatic' cycling events was in 2016, when Podmore unwittingly exposed an intimate relationship between a CNZ teammate and a coach, after she reported the athlete had not returned home to their hotel after a night out during a training camp in Bordeaux, six weeks out from the Rio Olympics. Podmore was seen as a 'whistleblower' within Cycling NZ following this incident and allegedly subject to intense bullying and marginalisation within the organisation. The other defining disappointment and source of mental distress was Podmore's exclusion from the Tokyo Olympic team. Grieve began by scrutinising Monasterio's interpretation of Podmore's last social media post before her death in which she references the teen abortion 'so that I could follow my Olympic dream'. Podmore referenced a 'cover up' from Cycling NZ and HPSNZ. Grieve argues that Monasterio 'weighted' these cycling incidents over the then 24-year-old's past personal and family issues. 'You refer to the cycling issues, as impacting her, and of course those are clearly present in that post, no dispute about that, but she also refers to not meeting society's expectations, doesn't she, in terms of house, marriage, kids, because she'd given everything to her sport and termination of pregnancy,' Grieve said. 'Friends Thea Lyle and Eric Murray, talked about many things playing on her upbringing, the abortion and separation, the religious school, thinking she was supposed to be married and have children by the time she was 24.' Monasterio said it was evident from that post she felt 'she had sacrificed so much for her sport and that weighed heavy on her'. 'Her words would suggest to me 'I've sacrificed everything to do well in the sport',' he said today. 'And this is a matter for the coroner and the inquiry to determine. I feel that I've been unfairly dealt with. So what I had a sense from that post is that she feels angry and disempowered and feels that she sacrificed so much from her perspective, she's been excluded unfairly.' Monasterio said the extent to which 'not meeting society's expectations' and past relationships are 'interconnected' in Podmore's mental state 'could be subject to some debate'. 'The impression I get is of a young woman who had given so much of her energy and time to succeed at sport. And felt that to some extent she'd been treated unfairly. So she put all her eggs in one basket. And that basket didn't get her to the Olympics. It didn't get her to where she wanted to go. And it seems that that led to despair.' Continuing on the same line of argument, Grieve highlighted that police in summarising witness interviews referred to a number of surrounding circumstances contributing to Podmore's mental deterioration, including the teenage pregnancy, abortion, parental separation, and the cycling high performance issues. 'I'm putting to you that you've... [singled] out the cycling issues but haven't weighted as much the personal issues,' Grieve said. But Monasterio refused to concede to Grieve that it's very hard to rank the stresses and events that influenced Podmore's trials and mental distress. 'Not sure I agree with that… you can weigh to varying degrees the varying factors', Monasterio said. 'Look, all these factors are important. But the timing of events to my mind strongly support the proposition that the Bordeaux incident and the Heron inquiry [in 2018 into the Cycling NZ athlete coach relationship] is very significant,' Monasterio said. 'Then in evidence, I heard that the extent to which Olivia was allegedly bullied and excluded, and in my opinion for a young woman around the ages of 18 and 20 to meet that adversity, that's a very dominant feature. That's why I've weighted it heavily.' Monasterio went on to highlight the contrast with Podmore's mental health in her initial years at the Cambridge High Performance base prior to 2016 were 'actually pretty good'. 'She did really well. She performed well. She went to the junior champs. She got on the podium and that is after her parents' separation and after the abortion. She was described as being gregarious and the kind of person that could light up a room.' 'Remarkably high' depression, anxiety scores Just as he was in November 2024, Monasterio was also asked to give his perspective on the identification of severe to very severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in Podmore via structured psychological screening tools, called the DASS-21, in February 2020 - a time period in which she was attempting to qualify for the Tokyo Games. Monasterio had been critical of the lack of action from health professionals treating Podmore in the 18 months before her death. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. 'Do you think it's sufficient that she's screened this remarkably high result to simply ask 'are you OK?'... [given] this evaluative process you talk about?' Coroner Louella Dunn asked. Monasterio said the 'severe nature of elevated scores' did strike him in his review. 'So there's a real disconnect between what Olivia is identifying, on the screening tool as severe distress, and the information that's being accessed in what seems to be a relatively informal setting,' Monasterio said. 'How you conduct an interview or an assessment is often key to what you find. Now where does this assessment occur? How does it occur? Is it fitted in between training sessions? Is it occurring before or after a sports performance? The scores are very high.' Monasterio said he was not being critical of other clinicians, but that in his opinion, the severity of Podmore's scores would suggest that a formal assessment should have occurred in an environment that would facilitate a reasonable assessment to occur. 'Well, I can't say if I was a clinician because I'm a mental health expert, but if I was faced with this information, I would approach [the athlete]... It's tricky because you're in the middle of a competition... you're about to compete or you've just competed or you're trying to qualify for the Olympics and you've got these extreme scores for depression, anxiety and distress.' But Monasterio said questions should have been asked in a more formalised setting after competition. 'In my opinion, that would be required. These are not mildly elevated scores. These are really, really high scores.' 'There is no dispute' At the outset of the coronial inquest in November 2024 Coroner Dunn said 'there is no dispute' Podmore died by suicide. 'The focus of this inquest will be the mental health challenges Olivia faced and the care she received.' Dunn said the issues the inquest was attempting to answer were:
