By Dana Johannsen of RNZ
Young mountain bike star Sammie Maxwell has won her bid for Olympic selection after high-level discussions involving the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) board.
Maxwell was on Monday confirmed in the New Zealand team for Paris alongside two-time world champion Sam Gaze. Both will take to the cross country course at Elancourt Hill in less than two weeks – albeit Maxwell’s selection is conditional on Maxwell’s health needs being adequately supported at the Olympic Games.
The late announcement comes after Maxwell successfully appealed Cycling New Zealand’s decision not to nominate her for the Paris games, in an “incredibly complex” case that has been watched closely by sports officials.
Maxwell, who has been open about her battles with disordered eating, had not been put forward for selection for health, rather than performance reasons.
The 22-year-old says although the past few weeks have been “stressful and hectic”, she is excited about the opportunity to compete at her first Olympic Games.
“It’s true the past few weeks have been stressful and hectic, but I recognise that everyone involved in the process has a shared goal - to put my health and wellbeing first,” the Under-23 world champion says.
“I didn’t always agree with how everyone thought that should look, but I am grateful to have so many people around me caring for me and looking out for my health.”
Cycling New Zealand’s nomination criteria includes a clause that athletes must demonstrate they do not suffer from “any mental or physical impairment that would prevent them from competing at the 2024 Games to the highest possible standard”.
The national body considered the risk to Maxwell’s health were she to compete in Paris was too great.
But that decision was overturned by the Sports Tribunal, which concluded Cycling New Zealand’s handling of Maxwell’s case for nomination represented a “serious breach in natural justice”.
While the tribunal commended Cycling New Zealand for its concern about athlete health and wellbeing, the panel found officials had relied on inaccurate and out-of-date information when it considered Maxwell’s case.
The tribunal panel was also critical of the national body’s failure to provide Maxwell with a copy of a medical report that was pivotal in the selectors’ decision-making.
In upholding the appeal earlier this month, the tribunal took the rare step of nominating the young athlete directly to the NZOC for Olympic selection. Given the significant issues at play, the NZOC waited on the tribunal to publish its full reasons for the decision before making a final call on Maxwell’s participation in Paris.
RNZ understands the final decision was elevated to board level.
The NZOC said in a statement that it appreciates this has been a complex process and “acknowledges the care shown by all those involved as they worked to balance both performance and wellbeing outcomes”.
Maxwell’s case was among a handful of selection appeals the Sports Tribunal has ruled on in the busy lead-up to the Olympic Games. But this one in particular has captured the attention of the wider high performance sector given the challenging issues at play.
There has been increased emphasis on athlete wellbeing and the need for sports bodies to exercise its duty of care to athletes In the wake of a series of damning reviews into New Zealand’s elite sporting environments in the last six years.
But athlete representatives have also pointed out the human rights considerations in denying an athlete personal autonomy.
The tribunal raised this point in its full written decision published on Friday, noting its concern that Cycling New Zealand is taking a “discriminatory attitude towards athletes who have eating disorders” as it is essentially signalling “that if an athlete has an eating disorder, they must have a mental and/or physical impairment”.
“The tribunal finds that to be an uncomfortable precedent to set and is concerned that such an attitude could do more harm than good,” the decision read.
Maxwell’s appeal ultimately succeeded on two grounds. The tribunal ruled that Cycling New Zealand did not properly implement or follow the nomination criteria; and there was no material on which the decision could reasonably be made.
The tribunal found Cycling New Zealand relied on out-of-date and inaccurate information when it came to assessing the current state of her health, and disregarded a more recent medical report provided by Maxwell’s doctors in France, where she competes for pro-team Decathlon Ford.
“Ms Maxwell was entitled to have a nomination decision based on medical evidence that was both accurate and up to date but she received neither,” the decision read.
Maxwell also wasn’t provided the opportunity to see or respond to a medical report that was central in Cycling New Zealand’s decision – a move the tribunal found was a “serious breach of natural justice”.
The tribunal panel, which includes orthopaedic surgeon Dr Helen Tobin, was critical of the influence high performance director Ryan Hollows had on the nomination process by presenting a “skewed” memorandum to selectors.
It found Hollows presented only selective paragraphs from a doctor’s report and supporting evidence provided by Maxwell, and added his own emphasis to them.
Hollows’ involvement was described by the tribunal as “inappropriate” and it said his memo carried “considerable influence over the panel’s decision”.
The tribunal concluded while Cycling New Zealand “is to be commended for its concern” about Maxwell’s health, the national body was obliged to consider the athlete’s health in the narrow context of the nomination criteria.
“The actual physical impairment ... had not been defined and nor had the impact, if any, on her performance. Of course, in considering these matters there were Ms Maxwell’s results and the high level at which she had been performing which, to the Tribunal, were impossible to ignore.”
While Maxwell only learned of the NZOC’s decision over the weekend, Gaze’s place at the Olympic Games was confirmed several weeks ago.
It will be the second Olympics for the two-time Commonwealth Games champion, who was the sole New Zealander in Rio, while compatriot Anton Cooper competed in Tokyo in 2021.
Gaze comes off an outstanding 2023 season, winning the UCI MTB World Championship titles in short track and marathon, and finished runner-up in the Olympic distance. He is also showing strong form this season, sitting fifth in the World Cup standings.
“I am absolutely stoked to be named in the New Zealand team for Paris 2024 and I aim to give my absolute best over there,” says Gaze.
“I am going there to win. My desire is to go there for the top step. It is a bold statement, but I dream big and really believe in it.”
Cooper, who finished sixth in Tokyo, has struggled on the World Cup circuit this season after a series of health setbacks.
OPINION: Sport, with its fine margins such as this, can be beautiful and brutal.