The “shock and tragedy” of New Zealand Olympian Olivia Podmore’s sudden death has been revealed in the heartbreaking reactions from those close to her.
Athletes, sporting officials and family members have spoken of the final conversations they shared with the cyclist, who died at the age of 24 on Monday.
On a day when New Zealand sport was rocked, there were several significant developments to emerge on Tuesday, including:
— Discussions beginning to grant quarantine exemptions to New Zealand athletes returning from the Tokyo Olympics to allow them to attend the funeral
— Kiwi athletes finding out about Podmore’s death just moments before they boarded a flight in Tokyo
— New Zealand’s cycling federation saying it will review its mental health support program; and
— Friends and family revealing the junior cycling world champion’s movements in recent days, including her time with her mum on Monday, just hours before her death.
Olympic rower Eric Murray spoke to the media in Cambridge on Tuesday, describing Podmore as one of his closest friends.
“I was with her this time yesterday [Monday] and I wish she had said something,” Murray said.
“Her death is a shock and a tragedy.”
Murray said Podmore’s last messages on social media that spoke of the pressures of competing at the highest level — since taken down — would need to be dealt with at some stage.
“With Olivia’s final words she left us a message — a message we wish will never have to be read again by anybody else,” Murray said.
Murray is reported to have shared a weekend with Podmore snowboarding in Queenstown before saying goodbye to her on Sunday.
“I was the last person to see her alive,” Murray posted on social media.
“If you had seen her in the last 72 hours, you would never have thought this could happen.”
Podmore, who represented New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, had reached out for support before her death on Tuesday, Sport NZ CEO Raelene Castle said earlier.
Speaking at a separate Cambridge press conference yesterday, Cycling NZ chief executive Jacques Landry said it would be “questioning … for a long time” whether it had failed Podmore.
Her death was a “tremendous loss”, he said.
Asked about the environment at Cycling NZ since a damning 2018 report in to the organisation, Landry said his KPI was to ensure there was a proper culture at the organisation.
A spokesperson for the Podmore family, Mike Pero, said Podmore was with her mother, Nienke, on Monday in good spirits at Queenstown Airport before flying to Hamilton.
“It’s a difficult time for them to come to grips with this. It was totally unexpected and they are grieving the loss of their daughter, and they don’t know what to think at this stage. They’re still trying to come to grips with it,” Pero said.
Pero said Podmore had been training hard in Cambridge in the hope of competing at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I personally only saw her two weeks ago while I was in Cambridge and we didn’t see this coming obviously,” Pero said.
High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) also released a statement saying it is “deeply saddened” by Podmore’s death and a “significant amount of work” is being done to support returning Tokyo 2020 Olympic athletes who knew Podmore as they enter MIQ (Managed Isolation Quarantine).
“A significant amount of work has been done in advance to ensure the team have the support they need for their physical and mental wellbeing in MIQ,” HPSNZ said.
Kiwi cyclists who competed in the Tokyo Olympics had touched down in Christchurch on Tuesday morning and the athletes were finding it “very difficult” in MIQ at the moment, Castle said.
Athletes found out about Podmore’s death as they were about to board the flight in Tokyo on Monday.
Cycling NZ indicated to the Herald today it was “having discussions” around how Tokyo Olympic cyclists in MIQ for the next two weeks might be able to attend Podmore’s funeral.
However, they said it was too early to tell if this could happen.
In response to questions last night, an MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) spokesperson directed the Herald to the MIQ website which states: “MIQ exemptions under the exceptional circumstances category cover requests such as the death of a family member, or to visit a terminally ill relative, or for other exceptional reasons”.
The key factor in assessing MIQ exemption is the public health risk on a case-by-case basis. Exemptions are assessed within five to seven days of the application.
NZ Olympic Committee communications director Ashley Abbott said it had no “information regarding the timing of any future celebrations of Olivia’s life and will work through supporting the team as required”.
She added it was important to note Olympians are subject to the same MIQ rules as all New Zealanders.
A source close to the family said the timing of Podmore’s funeral had not been confirmed as of last night as they were still organising the transportation of her body back to Christchurch.