‘A lot of nervous people’: Olivia Podmore’s family expect harsh truths

The “emotional fatigue” Nienke Middleton feels ahead of the coronial inquiry into her daughter Olivia Podmore’s death more than three years ago is barely manageable.
But she has seen many of the suppressed documents due to be examined in the three-week inquest, starting at Hamilton District Court today, and the desire for the truth to be laid bare sustains her.
“I get fatigue from my job but this is a different type of fatigue. It’s like none other. It’s just taxing. It affects your sleep. It affects your entire life,” Nienke says.
“I’ve had to take a whole month off work. Financially it’s such a big dent but we’ve just felt we’re so strongly convicted that we just have to do it for Livy and change.”
Podmore died the day after the Tokyo Olympics ended, on August 9, 2021, after the track cyclist failed to qualify for that event following a tortuous Covid-19-interrupted selection process.
The then 24-year-old had competed in the 2016 Rio Games but was drawn into numerous controversies behind the scenes of Cycling NZ (CNZ) in the years that followed.
The ramifications of Podmore’s death led to a 2022 independent review, by KC Mike Heron and Professor Sarah Leberman, that handed down damning findings about a CNZ culture that “prioritises medals over wellbeing”.
But the terms of reference for that immediate review were to strictly focus only on the broad cultural issues of that national sporting body – despite them being instigated by Podmore’s death.
It’s only now that answers that specifically relate to Podmore’s treatment by coaches, administrators and medical professionals at CNZ can be asked in court.
“It’s just a clever play on words to take the spotlight off Olivia. It was convenient to use that. But the whole [2022 Heron] report is about Olivia basically,” Nienke’s husband Chris Middleton says.
“If the [coronial] inquest allows for all the information to be shared … everything will fall into place.”
Coroner Louella Dunn will oversee the inquest. In formal terms, Coroners conduct inquests to determine the cause and circumstances of death and identify ways to prevent similar deaths in the future.
It has been widely reported that Podmore died in a suspected suicide at the home she was flatting at in Cambridge. But the medical treatment and duty of care provided to the then 24-year-old athlete from CNZ in the months and years leading up to that have never been officially investigated.
About 30 witnesses will appear at the inquest, including Nienke and Chris, who will be representing themselves without legal counsel.
“I’ve got to be the lawyer, by default,” Chris 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 High Performance Sport NZ (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.”
Podmore’s father, Phil, and brother, Mitchell, both of whom have never publicly spoken about the death, will be represented by barrister Hamish Evans at the inquest.
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 Kings Counsel. All up, there will be four KCs at the inquest – something that riles Chris , given the legal expenses the family has personally endured over several years.
Other notable witnesses at the inquest include friend and two time Olympic gold medalist Eric Murray, and Podmore’s housemate at the time and close friend Andrew McLean. This was the residence where Olivia died on the outskirts of Cambridge.
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.”
In 2021, the Herald exposed that Podmore had been caught up in a number of controversies throughout her time with CNZ.
In her final social media post, hours before she died, Podmore referenced a “cover-up” at CNZ.
In 2016, 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.
The fallout from this athlete-coach relationship led to another 2018 independent review, also by Mike Heron KC.
In the week after her death, the Herald revealed that Podmore was an athlete cited in the 2018 Heron review that had been pressured to lie by CNZ.
From reports of those close to Podmore, during the next two years within Cycling NZ following the 2016 Rio Olympics and leading up to 2018 Heron investigation, Podmore was marginalised within the Cambridge training environment.
At the end of 2018, Podmore was paid a $20,000-plus sporting grant for welfare reasons several involved with CNZ and close to her described as questionable.
“Hush money, we used to laugh about it and call it hush money, and she was like, ‘Well yeah, pretty much’. Of course man, what else would you f***ing give a discretionary thing for. Honestly, it’s the same in any other sport that you don’t give away PEGs funding for no reason,” Murray told the Herald in 2021.
The Herald has also reported 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.
The Middletons hope the three-week inquiry will be an opportunity expose many of these incidents in greater detail.
“We’ll be there every day, absolutely. We don’t want to miss a thing,” Nienke said.
“It’s a big build-up. We’re just looking forward to going through the process and hopefully some good outcomes for everyone and for the future. It’s so hard because we can’t say [much], we’re not allowed. It’s been a real eye-opener [looking at the suppressed docs].
“I’m optimistic [the truth will come out]. It will be a relief for the truth to come out but all we keep saying is we just want actually proper positive change. Not smoke and mirrors and a good yarn about the change.”
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.
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