Thursday 4 August 2016 18:24, UK
Former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton has faced five hours of questioning before an Independent Review as he fights to clear his name.
The 59-year old Australian resigned in April, having been suspended following allegations of discriminatory behaviour made against him by several Olympians and Paralympians, including Jess Varnish and Darren Kenny.
A three-man panel headed by the chair of British Rowing, Annemarie Phelps, heard Sutton explain his recollections of events after March 2, following Varnish's failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.
As Sutton gave evidence in central London on Wednesday afternoon, the Team GB track cycling team were mid-flight from Heathrow to Rio's Galeão International Airport, ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
Sutton's evidence is understood to have included email chains and details from a meeting, which Sutton believes will prove that a number of the allegations made against him by Varnish were false.
The review is considering accusations of a culture of bullying within British Cycling, along with the allegations against Sutton, and is understood to have already heard evidence from Varnish. Before publishing its findings, it is expected to hear from Sir Dave Brailsford, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy.
Phelps was joined on the review panel by John Mehrzad, a barrister specialising in sports law, and former Great Britain hockey player Annie Panter. The fourth member of the panel, former England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster, was unable to attend due to previous commitments.
The review is due to publish its findings in the autumn, once it has interviewed a number of athletes presently competing in Rio. However, friends of Sutton have told Sky Sports News HQ that he believes the review should be in a position to exonerate him much sooner, possibly in the next few weeks.
Last month, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News HQ, Sutton strongly denied all the charges and hopes the review will see him cleared.
Among the allegations against Sutton are claims from track cyclist Varnish that she was told to "go and have a baby" after her contract was not renewed.
When asked about that, Sutton said: "One hundred per cent I've never had that conversation with Jess and I've had a lot of conversations with her in the past."
"To me [being exonerated] is massive. Because I know that the comments that have been made were false and it saddens me that it came to that, but let's just think of the good work that British Cycling have done to put this review process in place and everybody can have their say."
