For more than three years Olivia Podmore’s family have been trying to piece together the jigsaw of her life.
To understand what led to the events of 9 August, 2021 – the day after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics – when the elite sprint cyclist, 24, died by suspected suicide.
Over the next three weeks in courtroom seven of the Hamilton District Court, they will get the closest thing they can to answers.
On Monday, coroner Luella Dunn will open an inquest into the death of the Rio Olympian. More than 25 witnesses are expected to be called during the three-week hearing, including Podmore’s former coaches, past and present leaders of Cycling NZ and High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ) officials.
For Podmore’s family, it will be an opportunity to ask the questions that have long troubled them.
Her death, and the outpouring of anger and emotion from fellow athletes, parents and support personnel in the high performance system that followed, prompted an independent inquiry into Cycling NZ and HPSNZ.
But that inquiry, led by Mike Heron KC and Professor Sarah Leberman, a leading academic in women in sport, was not able to traverse Podmore’s direct experiences in the system, as the case was already before the coroner.
The coronial process was also cited by leaders of both Cycling NZ and HPSNZ as the reason for their non-response when revelations about the management of Cycling NZ’s elite track programme emerged in the weeks and months after Podmore’s death.
Podmore’s mother, Nienke Middleton, said it has been frustrating waiting for the issues raised to be properly addressed.
“We’ve waited for over three years now to share about Livi’s truth and understand what really went on. And obviously our lives haven’t moved on because they can’t move on, so we’re just looking forward to this coronial process and the inquest so that the truth can actually come out and it can be talked about,” Middleton said.
“None of the reviews have been allowed to speak about Livi. So now is the opportunity to get everything out and tell Livi’s full story. Being able to put it all in context and get the truth out there means a lot to us,” her husband, Chris Middleton, adds.
But Middleton is clear that one thing she does not expect to get out of the hearing is closure.
“We’re always going to feel [Olivia’s death] shouldn’t have happened, so we’re never going to be able to close that off,” she said.
“But hopefully it will give us some clarity and allow us to move on better.”
The Middletons have been assisted by a lawyer throughout the coronial process, but will represent themselves at the inquest, due to the prohibitive costs of a three-week hearing.
Podmore’s father, Phil, and brother, Mitchell, will also participate in the inquest, and will be represented by Christchurch barrister Hamish Evans. Phil Podmore, who has never spoken publicly about his daughter’s death, declined to comment ahead of the hearing.
In a statement, Sport NZ group chief executive Raelene Castle acknowledged the heavy toll the next few weeks will take on Podmore’s family and friends.
“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. 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.”
Podmore’s death, less than 24 hours after the closing ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics, followed a post on social media in which she spoke of the challenges of top level sport, and accused the national body and HPSNZ of a “cover up”.
The inquest is expected to revisit the events that led to Heron’s first review into Cycling NZ in 2018, which uncovered examples of bullying, a lack of accountability and other cultural issues.
Heron also examined the role High Performance Sport NZ played in allowing the culture within Cycling NZ’s elite programmes to continue, finding there was “insufficient collation and escalation of information known to HPSNZ and a failure to reflect on whether issues it was aware of were adequately dealt with”.
The inquest will also likely touch on more contemporary issues, including Podmore’s exclusion from the New Zealand cycling team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The purpose of the coronial inquest is not to apportion blame or responsibility; rather it is an inquisitorial process that aims to determine the cause and circumstances of the death and ways to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Among the issues the coroner will explore during the inquest into Podmore’s death are: to what extent Cycling NZ and HPSNZ knew of Podmore’s mental health challenges; what steps were taken by the two organisations to address these challenges and whether they were appropriate; and whether the current policies and processes of Cycling NZ and HPSNZ are adequate and appropriate to address the health challenges faced by high-performance athletes.
Middleton said she does not want the inquest to be a “witch hunt”. She said it is about ensuring athletes in the system are safe and supported.
“Livi made it very clear in her final Instagram post that she hoped no other athlete has to go through the things that she faced. So we are following her lead on that and we have huge conviction. We want to help fight for a better future for athletes.”
rnz.co.nz
