Rohan Dennis, an Australian world champion cyclist, received a suspended jail sentence on Wednesday for his role in a vehicle incident that fatally injured his wife, Melissa Hoskins, a fellow Olympic cyclist.
Ms. Hoskins was struck by a car driven by Mr. Dennis in December 2023 in Adelaide, the authorities said at the time. Ms. Hoskins, a celebrated Olympic cyclist, later died of her injuries in a hospital. She was 32.
In December last year, Mr. Dennis, 34, pleaded guilty to one charge of committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm, which carried a maximum sentence of seven years. 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.
On Wednesday, a judge at District Court of South Australia, in Adelaide, sentenced Mr. Dennis to a 17-month jail term. The sentence was suspended on a two-year good behavior bond, meaning Mr. Dennis will not serve jail time if he does not violate the conditions of the bond. Mr. Dennis was also barred from driving for five years.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Ian Press said that Mr. Dennis had disregarded Ms. Hoskins’ safety. But he cited Mr. Dennis’ cooperation with the police, as well as his guilty plea, his remorse, and his taking responsibility for his and Ms. Hoskins’ two young children as reasons for the suspended sentence.
Mr. Dennis and Ms. Hoskins — who married in 2018 — had argued before Mr. Dennis left their home and got into his car one night in December 2023, the judge said in his sentencing remarks. Ms. Hoskins jumped onto and laid on the hood of the car, in an apparent attempt to stop Mr. Dennis from leaving, and Mr. Dennis drove about 246 feet (75 meters) at a slow speed with her on the hood.
Ms. Hoskins then got off the hood, walked next to the car and then opened the door, while the car was still moving. Mr. Dennis shut the door before accelerating the car in an apparent attempt to drive away.
The two acts of accelerating while Ms. Hoskins was still in proximity to the car and driving while she was on the hood formed the basis of the charge against Mr. Dennis, the judge said. Although Ms. Hoskins was not harmed by these acts, they “did create a risk of her being harmed and you knew that, but continued to drive anyway,” he said.
Mr. Dennis was not aware that Ms. Hoskins was still holding onto the car as he accelerated away, the judge said. It was at that point that she fell, leading to her death. This did not form part of the charge against Mr. Dennis, the judge stressed.
“There is no allegation that you knew, or even contemplated, the likelihood that your wife was still running next to the car as you continued to drive down the street for only a matter of a second or two,” he said.
Outside the court, Ms. Hoskins’ parents, Amanda and Peter Hoskins, said they believed jail time for Mr. Dennis would have had a detrimental impact on his two children.
“Their health and well-being is more important than a period of incarceration,” Mr. Hoskins said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr. Dennis did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his lawyer.
Mr. Dennis, who rode professionally both on track and road, competed in three Olympic Games, the Tour de France and other major events. He won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He announced his retirement in 2023.
Ms. Hoskins started her cycling career at 16 and competed in track cycling at the 2012 London Olympics and the 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.
