• A coronial inquest has begun at the Hamilton District Court into the death of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore in a suspected suicide on August 9, 2021, one day after the Tokyo Olympics ended.
• The Herald revealed a litany of misconduct at Cycling NZ relating to Podmore, including pressure on her to lie during a 2018 investigation into impropriety at the sporting body.
• A damning 2022 report by KC Mike Heron found a number of cultural and structural deficiencies at Cycling NZ.

WARNING: This story deals with suicide

A disgraced Cycling NZ coach, who resigned after a relationship with an athlete in the system, would allegedly bully Olivia Podmore right before races whispering in her ear “just don’t f***ing crash” and often “berate” her on personal subjects including her sex life.

The revelations at the coronial inquest into the death of Podmore came from Nicholle Bailey, who was a close friend of Podmore for many years up to her death on August 9, 2021.

The coach, who has permanent name suppression in this inquest, would regularly “berate Olivia on all aspects of her personal life” including who she was dating, what she ate, “the size of her bottom, her haircut and how many boys she might have slept with and more”.

Podmore died the day after the Tokyo Olympics ended, after the track cyclist failed to qualify for that event following a Covid-19-interrupted selection process complicated by several controversies.

Bailey says she became “really good friends” with Podmore in 2018 “to the point where I treated her like my little sister”.

In 2016, Podmore unwittingly exposed an intimate relationship between a CNZ teammate and the 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.

The fallout from this incident and media scrutiny led to a 2018 independent review by Mike Heron, KC, that found the athlete-coach relationship “inappropriate”. Heron was also responsible for a second damning 2022 report into the culture at Cycling NZ that “prioritises medals over wellbeing” following Podmore’s death.

Bailey said today that “Olivia’s role as a ‘whistle-blower’ during the 2016 Bordeaux incident meant that bullying of Olivia had ramped up”.

Nicholle Bailey gives evidence in the inquest into the death of Olivia Podmore at the High Court in Hamilton. Photo / Pool

• Kiwi Olympic legend Eric Murray reveals Podmore’s ‘tipping point’ during Tokyo Games
• Podmore’s father ‘never made aware’ of her mental health struggles in 7yrs at CNZ
• ‘A lot of nervous people’: Olivia Podmore’s family expect harsh truths

Eric Murray gives evidence in the inquest into the death of Olivia Podmore at the High Court in Hamilton. Photo / Pool

In her statement to police as part of the coronial process, Bailey said then CNZ chief executive Andrew Matherson had told her he had known about the athlete/coach affair “for quite some time, and that it was common knowledge among the cycling team”.

Bailey said Matherson told her he would need a statement from Podmore in order to get the coach in question to stand down. Bailey then asked Podmore over to her house to discuss this and her car was seen.

“The bullying towards Olivia escalated after this,” Bailey said.

Examples given by Bailey in court today include the coach allegedly text messaging the then 19-year-old Rio Olymipian that she didn’t deserve her team spot in that Games.

The CNZ athlete in the relationship with the coach was also part of the bullying and would “try to crash [Podmore] during racing”, Bailey said.

Bailey said the coach would text Podmore “harassing messages … the littlest most ridiculous things that had nothing to do with cycling”.

“[He] was messaging her the whole time there that she didn’t deserve to be there… he would whisper in her ear as she was leaving the pits, ‘Don’t crash just don’t f***ing crash’...” Bailey said.

“She was bullied by the A-team [men’s sprint team].”

Bailey also spoke about the coach being fed information from team psychologists.

“[The coach] used to know when she had gone to a GP, he knew when she was on the pill … that’s not relevant [information he should know],” Bailey said.

“That information used to be fed back to [him].

“I believe Olivia’s openness with [CNZ psychologists] was a double-edged sword. In one sense it provided awareness of the difficulties she was facing. However, I’m also aware that this information regularly went further than it should have, resulting in Olivia being ostracised, vilified and bullied by coaches and teammates.

“[The team psychologist and the disgraced CNZ coach] were all part of this ‘boys’ club’. [The psychologist would tell the CNZ coach] about the confidential discussions that would go on in these [private health] sessions.”

Bailey felt that “there was a severe lack of treatment if I’m honest”.

She said Podmore told her in February 2021 she was “feeling suicidal” and that a High Performance Sport NZ psychologist was aware of this but “downplayed or minimised Olivia’s state of mind”.

Nienke Middleton, Olivia Podmore's mother, at in the inquest into the death of Olivia Podmore in the High Court at Hamilton. Photo / Pool

NZ Olympic legend Eric Murray reveals ‘tipping point’

Kiwi Olympic champion Eric Murray has spoken about the “tipping point” Olivia Podmore experienced in the weeks before her death watching the Tokyo Olympics where her ex-boyfriend won a gold medal and a teammate won a medal in her track sprint event.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist rower was a friend and mentor to Podmore in the years before the 24-year-old took her life.

Murray was a witness this morning in the coronial inquest into Podmore’s death in Hamilton District Court and spoke about the lack of communication Podmore received about her non-selection for the Tokyo Games.

“I think the tipping point for Olivia was having to watch the Tokyo Olympic Games after everything she had gone through in connection with her non-selection,” Murray said.

“She watched her ex-boyfriend, Tom Murray, win a gold medal in the rowing eight. Olivia was upset during this time, but I did not observe any particularly concerning behaviours. She also watched a friend and teammate, who was arguably ranked lower than Olivia, go on to win a medal in an event she had raced in.”

“I guess it’s more of a shell shock watching the Olympics … like, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go?”

‘There is no dispute’

At the outset of the coronial inquest, set to go for three weeks, Coroner Louella 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:

• What were the circumstances of Podmore’s death?
• What did HPSNZ and CNZ know of Podmore’s challenges before her death and did they have sufficient knowledge to help her?
• What steps did they take and were they appropriate to address the health challenges?
• If another athlete had the same mental health issues today as Podmore experienced, would the response from HPSNZ and CNZ be different?

Olivia's brother, Mitchell Podmore, and their father, Phil (in the background), at the Olivia Podmore inquest. Photo / Pool

Cyclist Oliva Podmore (inset), her mother Nienke Middleton (left), and Nienke's husband, Chris Middleton (right), in Hagley Park, Christchurch. Photo / Joe Allison

Three-year wait for answers

In formal terms, coroners conduct inquests to determine the cause and circumstances of death and identify ways to prevent similar deaths in the future.

About 30 witnesses will appear at the inquest, including Podmore’s mother, Nienke Middleton, and her husband, Chris, who will represent themselves without legal counsel.

“I’ve got to be the lawyer, by default,” Chris Middleton said. “It was probably going to be another $150,000, so we made the fairly simple choice that we’ll do it ourselves.”

The Middletons have already undertaken an extended legal battle to obtain Podmore’s medical records from HPSNZ, costing them tens of thousands of dollars.

More than 1000 medical documents were suppressed ahead of the coronial inquiry, the Middletons say.

Chris said the documents, which they finally obtained in late 2022, made for disturbing reading.

“There’s been an awful lot of noise coming out of [HPSNZ]. They’ve just fought absolutely everything pre-inquest, everything suppressed ... God, it’s just been relentless,” he said.

“There’ll be a lot of nervous people there I would think.”

Nienke added: “We’ve basically had to kick and scream for everything”.

Olivia Podmore (left) with her mother, Nienke Middleton. Photo / Supplied

There are a number of non-publication orders for the names of health professionals who worked within the HPSNZ system, as well as a CNZ staff member.

HPSNZ, CNZ and several other witnesses sought non-publication orders through King’s Counsel. In all, there will be four KCs at the inquest - something that riles Chris, given the legal expenses the family have personally endured over several years.

Other notable witnesses at the inquest include friend and two-time Olympic gold medallist Eric Murray, and Podmore’s housemate at the time and close friend Andrew McLean. This was the residence on the outskirts of Cambridge where Podmore died.

Both Murray and McLean were with Podmore the weekend before she died, skiing in Queenstown.

Among the coaches speaking at the coronial inquiry will be former CNZ lead track sprint coach Rene Wolff and CNZ high performance director Martin Barras, as well as the chief executive at the time, Jacques Landry.

All three men resigned from their roles in the six months following Podmore’s death.

Sport NZ chief executive Raelene Castle will also appear as a witness.

“We would like to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of Olivia Podmore. HPSNZ appreciates that the coronial inquest will be a very difficult time for them,” Castle said in a statement.

“It may also be a difficult time for those who worked closely with Olivia within the high-performance system and HPSNZ will be providing support if and when needed.

“Athlete wellbeing is one of the three key focuses of the HPSNZ strategy, and a lot of new initiatives, updated policies and compulsory training have been introduced across the high-performance system over the last four years.

“We are all continuously learning, and the coronial inquiry will be an important next step in the process, as we work to ensure that high-performance sport is a place where all athletes can thrive and succeed.”

Raelene Castle, head of High Performance Sport NZ (left), and Jacques Landry, former chief executive of Cycling New Zealand at a press conference at the Cambridge Velodrome regarding the death of Olivia Podmore in 2021. Photo / Mike Scott

In her final social media post, hours before she died, Podmore referenced a “cover-up” at CNZ.

In the week after her death, the Herald revealed that Podmore was an athlete cited in the 2018 Heron review who had been pressured to lie by CNZ.

At the end of 2018, Podmore was paid a $20,000-plus sporting grant for welfare reasons that several involved with CNZ and close to her described as questionable.

The Herald has also reported on the personal challenges Podmore faced in the last year of her life, after she was told in August 2020 she would not be selected for the Tokyo Olympics. Podmore was using drugs recreationally during this time, and receiving psychological help.

Many fellow CNZ athletes felt Podmore was unfairly treated during selection for those Olympics. A legal dispute around selection lodged by another CNZ athlete close to Podmore complicated matters further.

Many CNZ athletes the Herald spoke to in 2021 were highly critical of the methods and culture created by Barras, who oversaw the decision to not select Podmore for the Tokyo Games.

Tom Dillane is an Auckland-based journalist covering local government and crime as well as sports investigations. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is deputy head of news.

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION

Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111