KEY POINTS:
An alleged breach of athlete confidentiality led to a member of the New Zealand Olympic team medical staff missing the Games, it emerged last night.
Roger Gooch, 47, an Auckland massage therapist, had his accreditation removed less than a month before the team left for Beijing. He was to have been working alongside the team in a general role.
However, Mr Gooch never made it to the airport. A source said an athlete had complained about a confidentiality breach, but Gooch denied it.
New Zealand Olympic Committee chef de mission Dave Currie last night confirmed Mr Gooch had been "a part of the team".
"On June 30, he resigned," said Mr Currie. "That's where it stands and that's all I can say because of the whole issue of confidentiality."
He would not say which athlete had their confidentiality breached or even which sport.
Mr Gooch was replaced in the team by another massage therapist.
He was an official with the kayaking team to Athens in 2004, where he worked with silver medallist Ben Fouhy. He also attended the Sydney Paralympics in 2000.
He is an owner of the Bodysmart Gym in central Auckland and has worked closely with New Zealand Ironman and the Auckland and Rotorua marathons.
Mr Gooch denied the allegations but would not expand on what happened.
He said it was "a drawn out story".
"I resigned, clearly resigned, but there was no breach of client confidentiality whatsoever."
