Biker wins Olympics spot over eating disorder exclusion

Sammie Maxwell earned a quota place in New Zealand's Olympic mountain biking team

New Zealand mountain biker Sammie Maxwell has won an appeal against her exclusion from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after a tribunal found selectors used incorrect medical evidence about her eating disorder to exclude her.

Maxwell, 22, was initially denied a place at the Games by Cycling New Zealand's (CNZ) nominations panel despite earning a quota spot.

The panel said the Kiwi had not "discharged the burden of demonstrating that she did not have any mental or physical impairment" from an eating disorder, which she has suffered from since the age of 15.

Maxwell appealed the decision and the New Zealand Sports Tribunal found CNZ had excluded her based on an out-of-date doctor's report.

The tribunal concluded that Ryan Hollows, CNZ's high performance director, filed a "skewed" memorandum to the nominations panel that unfairly influenced the decision.

The tribunal said the suggestion that an athlete must have a mental or physical impairment because they have an eating disorder was an "uncomfortable precedent" and "would do more harm than good".

"I recognise that everyone involved in the process has a shared goal - to put my health and wellbeing first," said Maxwell in a statement after winning her appeal.

"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."