{"id":187163,"date":"2021-11-03T14:39:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=187163"},"modified":"2021-11-03T14:39:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:39:29","slug":"what-the-case-of-olivia-podmore-can-tell-us-about-mental-health-in-professional-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/11\/03\/what-the-case-of-olivia-podmore-can-tell-us-about-mental-health-in-professional-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Case of Olivia Podmore Can Tell Us About Mental Health in Professional Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a cycling community, we have recently come a long way in bettering the conversation around mental health. From prominent figures opening up publicly about their struggles with mental illness to the rise of communities on social media focused on self-care and mutual support, mental health has been one of the loudest discussions in the world of cycling throughout the pandemic.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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And as fans of professional cycling, we also need to translate this attention and concern onto how we see the athletes we admire and the kind of support we advocate for them to receive.<\/p>\n

\"Peloton\"<\/a>
There needs to be more talk about mental health in pro cycling. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we start to unravel the circumstances that lead to the mental distress of professional athletes, it becomes clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. 34% of elite athletes have depression or anxiety, according to a recent meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a><\/em>. Athletes\u2014especially pros\u2014are taught to push through the pain, making it hard to process grief, anxiety, or depression.<\/p>\n

For professional women cyclists, in particular, resources are often expected to stretch farther. There can also be different pressures underscored by body image issues, the pressure to start a family, and an unstable financial situation. Unfortunately, these circumstances can have very real consequences.<\/p>\n

The consequences of a lack of support\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Earlier this fall, the cycling community was deeply saddened by the sudden death of track rider<\/a> Olivia Podmore. Podmore\u2019s death of a suspected suicide, which followed a concerning social media post in which she spoke about the pressure of high-performance sports, prompted an outpouring of anger among athletes, parents, and coaches. Unfortunately, these testaments describe a system that uses athletes as a means to an end and makes few allowances for their unique needs as individuals\u2014such as the case with Podmore.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia<\/a>
Podmore in 2019. \u00a9 Profimedia\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who was Olivia Podmore?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Born in Christchurch, Olivia Podmore started out cycling BMX at age nine and later transitioned to road cycling and then to track cycling. In 2015, she moved to Cambridge in Waikato to train with the national cycling team. That year, Podmore won silver alongside Emma Cumming in the team sprint and bronze in the time trial at the Junior Track World Championships in Astana.<\/p>\n

Podmore represented New Zealand at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and several other World Championships and major events. She had qualified for the recent Olympic Games but was not selected and did not compete in Tokyo, under a shadow of controversy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The impact of dashed expectations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Police did not confirm Podmore\u2019s cause of death but, according to Reuters<\/a>, friends and sports officials said her passing raised concerns about her mental health. The New Zealand Herald<\/em> noted<\/a> Podmore had written about the challenges of life as an elite athlete in an Instagram post that was later deleted.<\/p>\n

“Sport is an amazing outlet for so many people. It\u2019s a struggle, it\u2019s a fight, but it\u2019s so joyous. The feeling when you win is unlike any other, but the feeling when you lose, when you don\u2019t get selected even when you qualify, when [you\u2019re] injured, when you don\u2019t meet society\u2019s expectations such [as] owning a house, marriage, kids, all because [you\u2019re] trying to give everything to your sport, is also unlike any other,” she reportedly wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n

An inquiry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As friends and supporters voiced an outpouring of shock about Podmore\u2019s passing, Cycling NZ and Sport NZ announced<\/a> it was commissioning an independent inquiry into Podmore\u2019s death. Part of the outside pressure was also due to the fact that this was not the first time the Cycling NZ programme had come under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

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Words can\u2019t express how saddened we are to hear of the sudden death of Rio 2016 Olympian, Olivia Podmore.<\/p>\n

Our thoughts are with her family, friends and @CyclingNZL<\/a>. RIP \ud83e\udd0d pic.twitter.com\/i1sKCI1CsM<\/a><\/p>\n

— UCI Track Cycling (@UCI_Track) August 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n