Olympic medallist Gary Neiwand subjected former partner to ‘nightmare’ harassment

The former partner of Olympic medallist Gary Neiwand says she “lost all trust in men” when the retired cyclist traumatised her with calls and messages after she told him to stop contacting her.

Gary Neiwand. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The former partner of Olympic medallist Gary Neiwand says she lived in fear after the retired cyclist began to harass her with unwanted calls and messages, describing her traumatising ordeal as a “nightmare”.

Neiwand, 57, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he avoided jail after pleading guilty in June to using a carriage service to harass.

Magistrate Abigail Burchill slapped him with a conviction and a $1000 fine, telling the ex-Olympian there must be something “fundamentally wrong” with his thinking since he was jailed in 2006 for stalking another former partner.

Standing mere metres from Neiwand, the woman told the court she asked him to stop contacting her in July last year after he “called off” their relationship.

When he refused, she blocked him but the court heard she would still be alerted whenever he would attempt to reach her.

“Each time I received a call, an email or a message on social media platforms, my anxiety would grow,” she said, reading from her victim impact statement.

“I was scared that I was going to be sucked back in again with his lies and deception.

“I was constantly terrified he would show up at my house.

“I would sit in the dark pretending I wasn’t home. It was like I couldn’t move. My whole body was shaking in fear.”

Gary Neiwand has won four Olympic medals for cycling.

The woman said she had not been able to sleep or eat during the ordeal and struggled to leave the house for three weeks.

“I was afraid because I knew he had done the exact same thing in the past,” she said.

“I felt stupid and naive that I had left myself be so badly manipulated … despite knowing what he had done in the past.

“I wanted to believe that he had changed his ways as I always try to see the good in people.”

She told the court she had now “lost all trust in men”.

“This leads me to truly understand that I’ll be alone and completely alone,” she added.

“With every court appearance, I’m forced to relive the nightmare.”

In 2006, Neiwand was sentenced to 18 months’ jail for stalking a former girlfriend and four other people.

And in 2011, he was sentenced to a suspended four-month jail term for exposing his genitalia to women in two separate incidents.

Magistrate Burchill told Neiwand on Thursday his criminal record now spans “five pages”.

“You’ve gone to jail … not once, but twice,” she said.

“You are old enough to know better.”

Gary Neiwand was jailed in 2006 for stalking a former girlfriend. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The court heard Neiwand sought to contact the woman after she mentioned to him that she had experienced “dark days”.

“But the constant bombarding of calls was only going to lead to trouble and it has,” Magistrate Burchill said.

Neiwand was also charged with stalking but that charge was dropped in June.

The 57-year-old was also placed on a “deferred sentence” in June to allow him to address his behaviour.

His defence lawyer confirmed he has attended nine sessions of counselling and five sessions with a psychologist since his last court appearance to work on “acceptance and commitment therapy”.

Magistrate Burchill said if he did not “stop this behaviour”, he was likely to be sentenced to jail time if he fronted court again.

Outside court, Neiwand dashed down the steps to jump into a waiting car, refusing to answer questions from the media.

The former world champion won two medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, winning silver for the keirin and bronze for the team sprint.

Years earlier, he won bronze at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and silver at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 for the sprint.