Authorities in New Zealand are making inquiries into the sudden death of the athlete.
The death of Olivia Podmore, a former Olympic cyclist for New Zealand, has been announced. She was 24 years old.
Her brother Mitchell confirmed that she had passed away on social media yesterday.
Taking to Facebook, he wrote: “Rest in peace to my gorgeous sister and loved daughter of Phil Podmore.
“Forever in our hearts. Love you more than anything.”
The cause of Olivia’s death is not yet known, but a spokesperson for the Waikato Police told Stuff, a news outlet, that two officers responded to the report of a sudden death in the town of Cambridge yesterday.
They said: “Police are making enquiries in relation to the death on behalf of the coroner. The coroner will release their finding in due course.”
Olivia Podmore represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Alongside her teammate, Natasha Hansen, she finished in ninth place in the women’s team sprint event.
Additionally, she finished in 23rd place in the qualification round for the women’s cycling sprint.
While she didn’t compete in this year’s Summer Games in Tokyo, the New Zealand Olympic Committee issued a statement saying that they were “saddened by the loss” of Olivia.
The Committee said: “We offer our deepest condolences to family, friends and others in the NZ community who are grieving this loss. She was a valued team member and her loss will be felt across the New Zealand sporting community.”
After her time at the 2016 Olympics, Olivia went on to compete at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She also represented the Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
