A four-person panel including Michael Heron QC will lead an inquiry following the death of New Zealand track cyclist Olivia Podmore.
It's been commissioned by Cycling New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand, which have both been in the spotlight since Podmore's sudden death six weeks ago.
Heron, who carried out a review into CNZ in 2018, will co-chair the independent inquiry alongside Professor Sarah Leberman, whose research has specialised in women and sport.
Dr Lesley Nicol, a former Silver Fern, and rowing Olympic silver medallist Genevieve Macky (nee Behrent) are the other two members of the panel.
In a public social media post that has since been deleted, Podmore wrote about the pressure of top level sport and particularly her relationship with CNZ and HPSNZ.
She said she hoped they never cover up another scandal, make a teenager lie or use blackmail and that she also hoped they will take suicidal athletes more seriously.
Podmore’s death came after Michael Heron QC conducted a report into Cycling New Zealand in 2018 following 1News revelations about a dysfunctional culture.
Podmore was a key contributor to the investigation which found a lack of accountability and consequences for bad behaviour as well as sub-optimal leadership. It identified how a young athlete was bullied and pressured to lie in the past.
Since Podmore’s death, some coaches and parents have also told 1News the idea of sending their teenager to the cycling high performance programme in Cambridge has become fraught with fear.
“We’ve listened carefully to what cycling athletes have been saying, and felt it was especially important that there were athletes on the panel who had experience in a high performance environment, and a strong representation of expert women,” CNZ board chairman Phil Holden said in a statement.
HPSNZ chief executive Raelene Castle said they had engaged with athletes when developing the terms of reference for the inquiry.
”We are committed to ensuring that the people central to this inquiry are consulted and listened to."
The panel will investigate the centralised programme that cycling and other high performance sports use in Cambridge, with an emphasis on induction, selection and exit transitions, which have been criticised in the wake of Podmore's death.
It will involved athletes and coaches, both current and those part of the programme since September 2016, a broad scope that will include those who have left it due to welfare issues.
Podmore's death is being investigated by the coroner.
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