Olivia Podmore died in a suspected suicide in August 2021. Photo: Supplied
This story discusses mental health and suicide. A list of helplines is available at the bottom of the page.
Cycling NZ's contentious handling of a young mountain biker's selection for the Paris Olympic Games has been revisited during the inquest into the death of elite track cyclist Olivia Podmore.
The Coroner's Court in Hamilton on Wednesday heard from Cycling NZ chief executive Simon Peterson, who took the helm of the organisation in February 2023 in the wake of a second major inquiry into the sport in three years.
The inquiry was instigated following the tragic loss of Podmore, who died in August 2021 in a suspected suicide.
Peterson told the court Cycling NZ has undergone a marked cultural transformation since the findings of Mike Heron KC's second independent inquiry were published.
The Cycling NZ boss outlined the work of the Cycling Integrity Steering Committee, which was tasked with implementing the recommendations of the inquiry. Peterson said the work of the Committee was completed in February this year, having carried out all 151 action points.
Among those tasks was overhauling and modernising the sport's practises around selection.
Under questioning by Joshua Shaw, counsel for the Coroner, Peterson was challenged on whether the selection environment had really changed, citing a Sports Tribunal ruling from earlier this year which found there were "serious breaches in natural justice" in Cycling NZ's handling of mountain biker Sammie Maxwell's Olympic nomination bid.
The tribunal in July upheld an appeal by Maxwell over her non-nomination for the Paris Games, and took the rare step of nominating the 23 year-old directly to the New Zealand Olympic Committee for selection.
Cycling NZ had earlier declined to put Maxwell forward for selection for health rather than performance reasons. The young rider, who went on to finish eighth at the Olympics, has battled an eating disorder since her teens and has been open about her struggles with the national body.
The tribunal found Cycling NZ relied on out-of-date and inaccurate information in arriving at its decision not to nominate Maxwell. The appeals body also found Maxwell was not given the opportunity to see or respond to a medical report that was central to Cycling NZ's decision.
When asked how Cycling NZ's handling of Maxwell's nomination bid aligned with Heron's recommendation that athletes needed to be given fair opportunity to see and respond to key information on which they were being judged, Peterson accepted there had been a procedural failure.
Peterson added that it was his understanding the report had been shared with Maxwell at the time, but he accepts now that did not happen.
The court heard the tribunal was particularly critical of the influence Cycling NZ's high performance director had on the nomination process by presenting a "skewed" memorandum to the panel. The tribunal found the director presented only selective paragraphs from a doctor's report and supporting evidence provided by Maxwell, and added his own emphasis to them.
Asked if it was normal for a high performance director to weigh in on a nomination decision in this way, Peterson responded:
"On the basis of the concern for the athlete, absolutely. The information we had before us was unequivocal about Ms Maxwell's ill health," he said.
"We're here because someone tragically lost their lives in an environment that wasn't culturally safe or protective. We acted in the best interests of Sammie, without question. We accept the tribunal's decision, we don't agree with it, and we continue to provide care to Sammie to this day."
Peterson contended that his sport's handling of the highly complex case showed that there had been a fundamental step change in their approach to athlete wellbeing.
"Ms Maxwell is an example where we needed to act in the interests of the person first, and we took that position. With the information before me, we made the best wellbeing decision we could make," he said.
"I give that answer, because that is a practical answer from this year of how we are leading this organisation with a people and culture focus from the board down."
"Appalling" behaviour
Earlier, Peterson issued a direct apology to Podmore's family for the "appalling" treatment she endured in the sport's high performance programme.
Unusually for a witness in a judicial hearing, Coroner Louella Dunn granted Peterson permission to attend the inquest and listen into the other evidence.
Peterson, who took on the top job at Cycling NZ in February 2023 - 18 months after Podmore's death - has been at the Coroner's Court in Hamilton every day of the hearing.
He told the court on Wednesday he has listened to the evidence with a "heavy heart".
"The behaviours of some of the people in our organisation, particularly in the 2016-2018 period during Olivia's induction, were appalling and I would like to apologise on behalf of Cycling NZ," Peterson said.
Earlier in the inquest, the court heard how Podmore faced "unrelenting" bullying from a coach and others in the programme after unwittingly exposing an inappropriate coach-athlete relationship in a training camp in Bordeaux in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games.
Olivia Podmore's mother, Nienke Middleton, listens to evidence on day two of the inquest. Photo: Mark Jephson / Stuff
The "Bordeaux incident" and subsequent fall-out was the central controversy examined in Mike Heron's 2018 investigation into Cycling NZ.
In the course of his investigation, Heron uncovered other issues outside of the terms of reference of the inquiry, including potential disciplinary issues.
The court heard last month that following the publication of the report, Heron wrote a confidential letter to former Cycling NZ chief executive Andrew Matheson outlining issues "that may give rise to further action".
Among the issues outlined was the disclosure Podmore was bullied by two athletes that remained in the programme.
In response, Matheson wrote a letter to the young athlete stating he saw "no tangible value" in taking disciplinary action against those that had harmed her. Matheson told Podmore the decision was made following consultation with her coach Rene Wolff, then high performance director Martin Barras, and a health practitioner responsible for Podmore's welfare.
Peterson told the court on Wednesday, the decision not to investigate the bullying allegations was "not appropriate".
Asked how he would have dealt with the disclosures, Peterson responded: "It would not be to close it down. That's not appropriate. It would be dealt with on a people level, not a letter."
Peterson, who took the helm of Cycling NZ in the wake of a second major inquiry into the sport in 2021 triggered by Podmore's death, said the organisation has undergone marked cultural transformation since 2022.
He said one of the biggest developments he has seen during his time at the organisation was the appointment of a full-time people and culture manager.
Peterson said when an issue is reported by an athlete, the people and culture manager "immediately removes the conversation from the HP space and says 'what is best for the person' not the programme".
"It's been a game changer in terms of bringing issues to the fore."
Peterson said consultation with athletes has also increased during his time at the organisation, noting when he started in the role "we clearly didn't have the engagement with athletes that I would aspire to".
The Cycling NZ chief executive said he turned down a "significant commercial opportunity" after consulting with the athlete group.
"I listened to that feedback and I ... declined the commercial opportunity on the strength of that."
"The athletes did not want to be aligned to that particular industry. It was a values-based decision, but it was also walking the talk on taking the athlete view point into account."
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