Sammie Maxwell has successfully appealed her exclusion from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. INSTAGRAM @SAMMIE.MAXWELL.MTB

New Zealand mountain biker Sammie Maxwell has successfully appealed her exclusion from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. A tribunal determined that selectors had used incorrect medical evidence regarding her eating disorder to justify her exclusion.

The 22-year-old biking star was initially denied a place at the Games by Cycling New Zealand's (CNZ) nominations panel, despite having earned a quota spot. 

The panel stated that the Kiwi athlete had not "discharged the burden of demonstrating that she did not have any mental or physical impairment" from the eating disorder she has battled since the age of 15.

Maxwell appealed the decision, and the New Zealand Sports Tribunal found that CNZ had based their exclusion decision on an outdated doctor’s report. The tribunal concluded that Ryan Hollows, CNZ’s high performance director, had submitted a "skewed" memorandum to the nominations panel that unfairly influenced their decision.





The tribunal stated that the idea an athlete must have a mental or physical impairment simply due to having an eating disorder was an "uncomfortable precedent" and "would do more harm than good."

“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," Maxwell said in a media release.

“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.”

She is joined in the mountain bike team by Sam Gaze, who claimed the one available spot in the men’s event for New Zealand. The double world champion was the only New Zealander in the mountain bike event at Rio 2016, while Anton Cooper represented his nation at Tokyo 2020.