Olivia Rose Podmore (24 May 1997 – 9 August 2021)[1][2] was a New Zealand professional racing cyclist.[3] She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[4]
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Christchurch, New Zealand | 24 May 1997
Died | 9 August 2021 Cambridge, Waikato, New Zealand | (aged 24)
Height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
Team information | |
Role | Rider |
Early life
Born in Christchurch in 1997, Olivia Podmore was the daughter of Philip and Nienke (née Tabak) Podmore. She had one elder brother, Mitchell.[1][2][4] She was educated at Middleton Grange School.[5]
Career
Podmore started out cycling in BMX at age nine, later moving to road cycling and then to track cycling.[5]
In 2015, Podmore moved to Cambridge in Waikato to train with the national cycling team.[6] That year, Podmore won silver alongside Emma Cumming in the team sprint and bronze in the time trial at the Junior Track World Championships in Astana.[7]
Podmore rode in the women's team sprint event at the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships,[8] She also competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, although she and her team-mate Natasha Hansen did not advance from the qualification round in the team sprint.[9] They finished ninth in the event.[10] She crashed in the keirin event at the Games,[6] and finished 25th in the event.[10] She also came 23rd in the heats of the individual sprint event at the Games.[11]
In 2017, Podmore was the New Zealand keirin champion.[12] At that year's Oceania Track Championships, Podmore came second in the 500 metres time trial event, and she came second alongside Emma Cumming in the team sprint event.[13] She competed for New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.[14] She was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the individual sprint competition,[15] and came sixth in the keirin event at the Games.[16] She won the 500 metres time trial event at the 2019 Oceania Track Cycling Championships,[17] and competed in the team sprint event at the 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[18] She competed in the same event at the 2020 Championships.[19]
Podmore reached the qualification criteria for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, but was not selected by the New Zealand Olympic Committee.[20]
Death
Podmore died in Cambridge on the evening of 9 August 2021, aged 24.[1] Her death is a suspected suicide and was referred to the coroner.[7][20] Hours before her death, she posted on Instagram about the pressures of high-performance sport.[14][20] Podmore's funeral was held in Christchurch on 13 August 2021.[21] She was buried in Christchurch's Yaldhurst cemetery.[22]
In September 2021, Cycling New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) appointed former New Zealand solicitor-general, Mike Herron QC, and Professor Sarah Leberman MNZM to co-chair an inquiry. Also sitting on the panel are Dr Lesley Nicol ONZM and rowing Olympic medalist, Genevieve Macky. The terms of reference of the inquiry included:[23][24][25]
- assessing the adequacy of the implementation of the recommendations from the 2018 Heron Report; identification of areas of further improvement that would ensure the wellbeing of athletes, coaches, support staff and others involved in Cycling New Zealand’s high performance programme are a top priority within the environment
- assessment of the support offered to athletes at critical points within Cycling New Zealand’s high performance programme (by both Cycling New Zealand and HPSNZ), with a particular emphasis on induction, selection and exit transitions;
- assessment of the impact that HPSNZ investment and engagement has on Cycling New Zealand’s high performance programme;
- assessment of the impacts of high performance programmes which require elite athletes to be in one location for most of the year, with a particular focus on Cambridge; and
- an understanding of what steps can be taken to improve current and future practices, policies and governance of Cycling New Zealand’s high performance programme with a view to ensuring the safety, wellbeing and empowerment of all individuals within that environment.
References
External links
- Olivia Podmore at UCI
- Olivia Podmore at Cycling Archives
- Olivia Podmore at Olympics.com
- Olivia Podmore at Olympedia
- Olivia Podmore at the New Zealand Olympic Committee