New Zealand cycling was plunged into mourning on Tuesday after Olympian Olivia Podmore's sudden death at the age of 24.
Podmore represented her country at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games but was not part of New Zealand’s team at the recent Tokyo Games.
A New Zealand police spokesman said police attended a sudden death at a property in Waikato on New Zealand’s upper North Island about 4 p.m. (0400 GMT) Monday.
Podmore’s cause of death was not confirmed, but friends and sports officials said her passing had raised concerns about her mental health.
Former Olympic rowing champion Eric Murray, a friend of Podmore, told New Zealand media he was with her on Monday and said her death was a “shock and a tragedy.”
“I wish she had said something," the 39-year-old said. "We have lost a sister, a friend and a fighter who lost that will of fight inside of her.
“If you had seen her in the last 72 hours,” he said, “you wouldn’t have thought this could happen. That’s why there’s so much talk about mental health at the moment.”
The issue of athletes struggling with their mental health has been in the spotlight since Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open.
American Simone Biles pulled out of most of her Olympic gymnastics events in Tokyo, citing a need to take care of her mental health.
New Zealand media reported Podmore had recently described the pressures of elite sport in a post on her social media.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee said news of Podmore’s death had reached the New Zealand cycling team in Tokyo, which was expected to return home on Tuesday.
“We are providing well-being support for members of her team and the wider team as we return home from Tokyo,” NZOC said in a statement.
Podmore’s brother Mitchell wrote in a Facebook post: “Rest in peace to my gorgeous sister and loved daughter of Phil Podmore. You will be in our hearts forever.”
Sport New Zealand boss Raelene Castle said Podmore had been “reaching out for support.”
“Support for athletes in programs is not perfect. Her legacy has to be that we make improvements,” Castle told a media conference.
She added that “extra layers of support” were being given to New Zealand’s cycling team.
Más Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
