Ex-Cycling NZ CEO Andrew Matheson was questioned in the coronial inquest into Olivia Podmore and disputed the statements of several other witnesses close to the Rio Olympian.
Olivia Podmore scheduled two conversations in the months before she died with a health practitioner to specifically discuss her “teenage years” and an abortion she had.
The health practitioner was treating Podmore for many years during her time at Cycling NZ and has given evidence yesterday and today in the coronial inquest into her death at Hamilton District Court.
The health practitioner also revealed he took no notes in his treatment of Podmore during her time in the Cycling NZ system, admitting he has “no excuse” for the lapse and saying “I should be better than that”.
The health practitioner said the allegations have left him “entirely mystified”.
Podmore died in a suspected suicide the day after the Tokyo Olympics ended, August 9, 2021, after the track cyclist failed to qualify for that event following a Covid-19-interrupted selection process complicated by several controversies.
The health practitioner was in the witness stand all of today, and touched on many aspects of his treatment of Podmore after she entered the High Performance Sport NZ system in 2014 straight out of Middleton Grange School, a Christian school, in Christchurch.
In his witness brief, the health practitioner gave an account of all his dealings with Podmore and provided detail on one of his final interactions with the then 24-year-old cyclist. He recalled the events by old invoices and his electronic calendar due to the lack of notes.
“In May 2021 … Olivia asked to speak with me about her teenage experiences, specifically about her terminating a pregnancy, to make sure she was using the performance mindset … established in our work to help her keep the right perspective about those years. I spoke with her twice on the phone,” he said.
The health practitioner said the key to these conversations was Podmore “having a non-judgemental regard for herself”.
“We talked about her viewing the decision she made as a teenager in the context of her cycling dream and taking pride in her ability to make such a big decision at such a young age,” he said.
“Olivia was also proud about how she had progressed from that time, and felt that she had done everything possible to be first selected for the Rio Olympics, and then the Tokyo Olympics.
“She felt integrity for following her decision, and that she had actually succeeded. Olivia was very calm, coherent and mature in these calls, despite the grief associated with her decision in retrospect. Olivia wanted to have her own family and this motivation was enhancing her regret that she also felt when looking back on those years.”
Olivia Podmore's mum Nienke Middleton (left) and step dad Chris Middleton (right) at the inquest into her death being conducted at the High Court at Hamilton. Photo / Pool
Podmore’s abortion at 16 was also prominent in her final social media post hours before her death on August 9, 2021, that described a “cover up” at Cycling NZ.
In it, she described the abortion as a decision to “keep her Olympic dream alive”.
But today in court the health practitioner added that “Olivia was in a very stable conversation with me,” during the May, 2021, discussions about her abortion and “there was no point she was distressed”.
The health practitioner also revealed there was an “emotional and performance support plan” devised for Podmore with other health professionals in the final months before she died.
In particular, there was an “intention to make sure we supported her during the Olympic period”.
“It was clear that the Olympics would be an emotional time for Olivia as she had her heart set on attending the Games. Hence, our plan was to begin support sessions with her the week of the Games, and then for that support to carry over to the New Zealand Olympic team’s return to New Zealand, as well as during the usual media and public hype in this period,” he said.
However, there is no detail in the witness brief of evidence of how this support manifested itself during the two weeks of the Olympics leading up to Podmore’s death.
“On Friday 6 August 2021, I messaged Olivia as per our plan … She responded saying that she could not catch up that day as she was snowboarding in the South Island and was having the time of her life,” the health practitioner said.
The health practitioner said today that he did not see signs of consistent distress from Podmore during 2021.
“I felt she was still going in a good direction. Certainly, the presentation picture was a young lady that was doing well.
“Through the Covid crisis I thought Olivia was coping incredibly well … despite the global crisis she was functioning as though it wasn’t happening.”
The health practitioner also touched on how he has since changed his practices around taking notes with athletes.
“I acknowledge that I have kept limited written records of my interactions with Olivia,” he said.
“In my role, I provide support to many athletes across different sports, in different cities and towns. Meetings are often impromptu, including on the track or in training facilities, but I also meet with athletes at prearranged times. The practicalities of my role have made it very difficult to keep written records of all of my interactions with athletes.”
Olivia Podmore with a friend, with whom she remained close over the years. "She definitely didn't want to burden people with her problems," the friend says. Photo / Supplied
Yesterday during the inquest, the health practitioner treating Podmore forcefully denied claims he shared confidential medical information within an “old boys’” network of Cycling NZ coaches and support staff at an inquest into the death of the elite cyclist.
The practitioner said he considered there to be “no grey areas” when it comes to sharing an athlete’s medical information.
‘There is no dispute’
At the outset of the coronial inquest, set to run 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 High Performance Sport NZ 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 Podmore's brother Mitchell Podmore (front) and their father Phil at the inquest. Photo / Pool
Cyclist Olivia Podmore (inset), her mother Nienke Middleton (left) and Nienke's husband Chris Middleton (right) in Hagley Park. 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 Middleton, 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 said: “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 has personally endured over several years.
Other notable witnesses at the inquest include friend and two-time Olympic gold medallist Eric Murray, and close friend Andrew McLean, who was Podmore’s housemate at the time of her death, sharing a residence on the outskirts of Cambridge where she died.
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.”
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.
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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