Bullying claims from Olivia Podmore: The cycling boss saw ‘no tangible value’ in taking action

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The former head of Cycling NZ told Olivia Podmore he saw “no tangible value” in taking disciplinary action against those who allegedly harmed her.

The revelation came on day three of an inquest into the Rio Olympian’s death. The 24-year-old died in an apparent suicide in August 2021, the day after the Tokyo Olympics.

The Hamilton Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday from former Cycling NZ chief executive Andrew Matheson, who led the organization during a critical period from 2014 to 2018 when serious behavioral and cultural issues emerged in the high performance program.

The issues were examined in detail in an independent investigation into Cycling NZ in 2018 conducted by Mike Heron.

After preparing his final written report, which detailed a litany of cultural and leadership failures and concerns about athlete welfare, Heron wrote a separate, confidential letter to Matheson outlining issues that “could give rise to further action”.

Among the additional issues Heron outlined were allegations that Podmore was bullied by two of her teammates in July 2016.

In response to Heron’s allegations of bullying, Matheson wrote a letter to Podmore in December 2018 advising her that he did not feel it necessary to take further action.

“I concluded that there was no tangible value in treating this matter as a disciplinary matter,” Matheson wrote.

He added that he had instructed head sprint coach Rene Wolff to work with Podmore and the other athletes involved to discuss the issues and “draw a line under the alleged incident”.

“Rene has informed me that he has initiated this process, therefore, on behalf of Cycling NZ, I declare this matter formally closed.”

Former Cycling NZ campaign manager Jess Massey told the court on Monday that Podmore was “furious” at the response.

The letter was sent just two months after the Heron Report, which found that Cycling NZ’s high-performance program did not adequately protect the welfare of athletes and other stakeholders; a lack of accountability and effective leadership in the program and an unwillingness to bring issues to the surface.

Joshua Shaw, counsel assisting the coroner, asked how Matheson’s informal approach to dealing with allegations of bullying was in line with the recommendations of the Heron report, which “should have resonated with everyone”.

Shaw argued that refusing to move forward with the bullying allegations “arguably failed to ensure accountability or adequate consideration of the welfare of athletes.”

Matheson told the court he did not remember the letter he sent to Podmore but accepted his approach was not in line with the report’s recommendations.

Matheson said he suffered from burnout in 2018 and was “physically and mentally exhausted” and could not remember details of the actions he took to minimize or reduce the risk of bullying towards Podmore.

“I can’t answer that. As I’ve stated before, I was quite ill at the time… my mental health wasn’t great… maybe the decision (not to investigate) was wrong.”

Previously, Matheson told the court he did not have any evidence of an inappropriate relationship between a coach and athlete until April 2018 – almost two years after the ‘Bordeaux incident’ in which the affair first came to light.

The inquest heard evidence this week that Podmore was subjected to routine bullying and harassment by the New Zealand sprint team coach and athlete since July 2016 after accidentally discovering the pair were in a relationship during a training camp in Bordeaux – three weeks later of the Olympic Games in Rio.

The scandal was the central controversy covered in Heron’s 2018 investigation.

Despite an internal investigation being carried out into the Bordeaux incident and behavioral issues at the Rio Olympics, Matheson said he had no evidence to take further action against the coach until Podmore made a formal complaint after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

“I was obviously aware of the rumours, and I think the most vivid memory I have was of the ex-chairman of Cycling NZ calling me in mid-2017, but we had no real evidence showing that relationship. Matheson said.

“The (2018) meeting with Olivia was the first real evidence we had to work with, and that was also captured in the Heron report.”

The Heron report referred to a phone call former chairman Simon Perry made to Matheson in May 2017 after receiving “direct confirmation of the relationship from a confidential informant”.

When asked why he did not consider this to be clear evidence on which to take further action, Matheson said he felt it was “just a rumor at that point.”

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