Olivia Podmore coronial inquest: More should have been done when cyclist was suicidal, inquest finds

Psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio told Podmore’s inquest that she had been signaling distress since early 2021, including discussing ways to take her own life.

Monasterio, an expert witness at the inquest before coroner Louella Dunn, said there was a duty of care to properly assess Podmore or to then refer her to a psychiatrist, which neither of the doctors treating her did.

“Given her known history of being considered a whistleblower, given the stress in her relationship with sporting bodies and what appears to me to be a fairly common pattern of variable but marked mental deterioration, more decisive action should have been taken at the time.”

Monasterio said that having suicidal thoughts to cope with stress, especially at a young age, is not a normal reaction and should be a warning flag – especially since this was a new answer from January 2021.

An earlier investigation found that Podmore was the target of bullying and harassment from her coach and teammates after she inadvertently revealed a coach-player affair during a training camp in Bordeaux, France, ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

By 2018, allegations of abuse at CNZ were reported in the media and lawyer Mike Heron began an investigation.

Monasterio said people labeled as whistleblowers generally don’t do well, let alone those so young, because it’s hard for almost all whistleblowers.

“You have to make sure this person isn’t double traumatized. It was an important event for the young man.

“Olivia found herself at the center of an investigation that left her feeling extremely vulnerable and appeared to begin to show distress as the Heron investigation and its findings became public.”

He said Podmore needed to get assurances from CNZ that she would be protected in the future as part of the primary duty of care.

Especially since her goal in life was to achieve success in elite cycling at the world’s most important events, which made it difficult to file a complaint with CNZ.

“A complaint against an agency on which your destiny depends is very embarrassing. It’s like biting the hand that feeds you.”

But he said she felt her role in the Bordeaux incident negatively impacted her trajectory in the cycling program.

Podmore herself stated that she suffered “mental torture”, and after the Heron report revealed a litany of cultural and leadership failures, as well as concerns about athlete welfare, she was promoted to a Tier 1 athlete card and had her salary refunded.

However, over the next 12 months its status dropped to Level 3, its lowest level in several years.

At the same time, according to the investigation, there appeared to be a lack of specific, detailed psychological support.

This was despite Heron writing a separate, confidential letter to CNZ’s then chief executive Andrew Matheson, in which she outlined issues that could “give rise to further action”, including allegations that in July 2016 Podmore was intimidated by two of her teammates.

However, Matheson previously told the Hamilton inquest that he saw “no tangible value” in taking disciplinary action against people who allegedly caused harm to Podmore.

Regarding Matheson’s recent letter to Podmore, in which he asked to “draw the line” on bullying, Monasterio stated that if a person is a victim of bullying, they would want a fair outcome, and the question was whether Podmore believed the closing letter was a fair outcome.

If she didn’t, she would feel even more powerless, he suggested.

In 2020, Podmore unsuccessfully appealed CNZ’s decision not to select her for selection as a sprinter for the Tokyo Olympics.

Two days before her death, she watched a teammate she could have beaten win a medal at the Olympics and an endurance cyclist perform poorly in a sprint race.

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