Former world champion cyclist Rohan Dennis has pleaded guilty to a car crash in Australia that killed his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins.
Hoskins died in hospital on December 30, 2023, after being hit by a car driven by Dennis outside their Adelaide home.
The 34-year-old was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death and driving without due care, but on Tuesday admitted a lesser charge – an aggravated charge of creating a possibility of harm.
Dennis – who has two children with Hoskins – will be sentenced at a later date.
Few details are known about the circumstances leading to Hoskins' death.
However, Dennis's guilty plea meant that he admitted driving the vehicle when Hoskins was in close proximity, knowing that the act was likely to cause harm or being recklessly indifferent to whether it would cause it.
The retired athlete's lawyer told the court: “Mr. Dennis had no intention of harming his wife and this charge does not hold him responsible for her death.”
Hoskins was the world champion in the team pursuit race in 2015, and also participated in the Olympic Games twice, and her death sparked a wave of tributes from around the world.
She and Dennis married in 2018.
Dennis retired at the end of the 2023 season after a career in which he won stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
He has won multiple world championships on road and track, and won time trial bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, having won team pursuit silver at London 2012. He also won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
