Rohan Dennis, an Olympic cyclist from Australia, pleaded guilty this week for his role in a vehicle incident that fatally injured his wife, Melissa Hoskins, also an Olympic cyclist, late last year, the local media reported.
Ms. Hoskins died in December 2023 after Mr. Dennis drove his vehicle with her on the hood and she fell to the ground, the police told The Australian after the incident. Ms. Hoskins, a celebrated Olympic cyclist, later died of her injuries in a hospital in Adelaide, a large city in southern Australia. She was 32.
Mr. Dennis, 34, pleaded guilty at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday to an aggravated charge of creating a risk of harm, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. He was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death and driving without due care, for which he could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted. With the plea deal, those charges were dropped.
A magistrate, or judge, told the court on Tuesday that Mr. Dennis had been driving with his wife on or near his vehicle, either knowing that it would most likely cause her harm or being recklessly indifferent to whether it caused her harm.
It was an aggravated offense because the two were in a relationship, said the magistrate, Justin Wickens.
Mr. Dennis was released on bail and will be sentenced in January.
The incident took place outside the couple’s home in an Adelaide suburb and involved a Volkswagen Amarok Highline, a large S.U.V.-style truck, police told the media.
A lawyer for Mr. Dennis told the court on Tuesday that her client had not intended to harm his wife.
“There was no intention of Mr. Dennis to harm his wife, and this charge does not charge him with any responsibility for her death,” his lawyer, Jane Abbey, told the court, according to local media.
Ms. Abbey could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Dennis, a world champion cyclist who competed both on track and road, competed in three Olympic Games, the Tour de France and many other major competitions. He won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He abruptly quit the Tour de France in 2019, vanishing during the race. When asked why, he cited “personal family reasons,” according to Velo, a cycling news outlet run by Outside magazine.
He announced he was retiring in 2023.
Ms. Hoskins started her cycling career at 16 and competed in track cycling at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She also won a gold medal in track cycling in the women’s team pursuit at the 2015 World Championships.
In 2016, she was injured and hospitalized when her pursuit team crashed while cycling during a training exercise in the Olympic velodrome in Rio. She announced her retirement from cycling in 2017.
She and Mr. Dennis married in 2018 and had two children.
Ms. Hoskins was buried in her home city of Perth, and a public memorial service for her was held in February in Adelaide, with Mr. Dennis and their children in attendance, according to local media. The service was held on what would have been the cyclist’s 33rd birthday.
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