Olivia Podmore’s former coach refused to wheel the young cyclist to the startline before her races at the Rio Olympic Games as he told her, “You do not deserve to be here”, an inquest into her death heard.
Warning: This story discusses mental health and suicide. A list of helplines is available at the bottom of the page.
Podmore’s treatment at her first Olympic Games was among a series of serious bullying claims described by the coach’s ex-wife Nicholle Bailey, who gave evidence at the Coroner’s Court in Hamilton on Tuesday.
Podmore, 24, died in a suspected suicide in August 2021 — less than 24 hours after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
Bailey told the court that another member of the Cycling NZ coaching staff had to wheel Podmore to the line at the 2016 Olympic Games, as her former husband refused to do so.
“The whole Games [the coach] was messaging her, telling she didn’t deserve to be there and she should be grateful,” she said.
“She told me that as she was leaving the pits he whispered in her ear, ‘Don’t crash, don’t f***ing crash, just don’t f***ing crash’.”
Podmore was involved in a crash in the keirin event at the Rio Olympics, and returned to ride the sprint the next day.
The previously unknown detail was met by an emotional response in the public gallery, with several onlookers breaking down in tears.
Three weeks prior to the Rio Games, Podmore inadvertently exposed that the coach was having an affair with one of her teammates during a training camp in Bordeaux.
Both the coach and the athlete cannot be named due to suppression orders in place.
On Tuesday, Bailey told the court she did not become aware of the “Bordeaux incident” until nearly two years later.
After independently learning of her husband’s ongoing relationship with an athlete, Bailey said she approached then-Cycling NZ chief executive Andrew Matheson about her concerns.
Matheson told her he had been aware of the affair for some time, but he was unable to do anything unless Podmore was prepared to make a formal statement, Bailey said.
It was at this time Bailey got in touch with Podmore, who agreed to meet for coffee.
Bailey told the court that during this meeting, another athlete saw Podmore’s car parked at her home, and the information got back to the coach.
“The bullying towards Olivia escalated after this,” Bailey said.
“[The coach] would berate Olivia on all aspects of her personal life. Who she was seeing and when, what she ate, the size of her bottom, her haircut, how many boys she slept with and more. It was relentless.”
Asked by Podmore’s stepfather, Chris Middleton, how the young athlete felt about the comments, Bailey responded: “She felt awful. You’re a young girl, you’re entitled to live a life. It would be the same as if I was in the workplace and my boss was dredging up my personal life and using it against me every day. It’s not OK.”
Bailey said other members of the track cycling team witnessed the bullying, but said nothing about the treatment.
“They definitely saw it and heard it. They didn’t help. If it worked to make their life easier then they would support what was being said [by the coach].
“She was ostracised and bullied by what [the coach] called the A-team. They definitely used to help kick the dog when it’s down, as such.”
Bailey said her knowledge of Podmore’s mistreatment in the programme came via witnessing her former husband discussing the young athlete at home among a “boys’ club” of other coaches and some health practitioners, and through what Podmore later disclosed to her.
Bailey told the court that the athlete her former husband was having an affair with would disclose private information about Podmore through their friendship and pass it on to the coach.
She said the pair continued to victimise the young cyclist even after the coach left Cycling NZ in mid-2018.
After leaving the organisation, the coach linked up with another international programme and continued to coach the athlete he was in a relationship with remotely. Bailey told the court the athlete would occasionally fly out to join the coach overseas for training blocks.
“[The coach’s] ongoing connection with CNZ through [the athlete] meant that an undertone of bullying and prejudice continued, despite his resignation.”
‘Boys club’
Bailey also gave evidence that the young cyclist believed information she told Cycling NZ health practitioners in confidence was reported back to the coach.
Bailey said she was troubled by the approach of one health practitioner in particular, who she observed had a close relationship with her ex-husband and formed part of “the boys club” of coaching and support staff.
She described Podmore’s openness with the health practitioner as 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,” she said.
“[The practitioner] would tell [the coach] about confidential discussions that took place in these sessions. [The coach] would tell other members of the team, all of which would be used against Olivia in training.”
Bailey said in her opinion the practitioner, who has interim name suppression, did not “exercise within the professional bounds of confidentiality and patient care”.
Selection battle
The inquest also heard on Tuesday from champion rower Eric Murray, who mentored Podmore during the 2020 and 2021 seasons and supported her in her selection battle for the Tokyo Olympics.
Murray and his partner Thea Lyle were the last people to see the young cyclist alive. The group had spent the weekend prior to Podmore’s death snowboarding in Queenstown. On their return to Cambridge, Podmore dropped the couple back at their home, before heading back to her flat, where she was found dead a short time later.
Murray told the court that he believed the “tipping point” for Podmore was during the Tokyo Olympics, having missed out on selection.
He knew Podmore was distressed by her non-selection for the Games, but he did not understand the full extent of her suffering, he said.
Murray said Podmore’s non-selection for the Olympic Games, despite the women’s sprint team having qualified a spot, left her questioning why she was even in the programme.
“She was uncertain as to the fact if she was part of the programme, then what she was there for if they weren’t going to send her to these events when she qualified,” Murray said.
“Generally people aren’t in the programme for s***s and giggles, they are there to get to the Olympics or the world champs or the Commonwealth Games.”
The inquest has been set down for three weeks, with more than 25 witnesses expected to give evidence.
rnz.co.nz
