‘My name is Mia Allbright and I want to state on the record that in October 2017, during the Pro Portugal competition in Peniche, my husband Cory was unfaithful to me with Amy Killicks. I knew Amy quite well back then, as she was Kit Foley’s fiancée at the time. This event was the cause of Kit’s separation from Amy, and of the subsequent incident on the water that day.

I want it to be known that I do not blame Kit for what happened. He and I were both victims of Cory and Amy’s actions, and what happened in the competition immediately afterwards came from a moment of anger, justifiable anger, with unforeseen consequences . . . I think sometimes we confuse winners with heroes. They are not. They make mistakes, like anyone else. Kit did and Cory certainly did too.

I know Kit’s tried to help us since in his own private ways and we thank him for that. It would have been easy for him to defend himself against Amy’s lies but he chose not to. He chose to protect Cory’s reputation for me and our boys. Which is why I am speaking out instead. Amy Killicks – now Mrs Robert Kesteven – is lying. She was contacted by Clover Phillips’ team to contribute to the new film about Kit and I can only assume she believed Kit had gone on the record about what had happened between her and Cory just before the accident. I believe she has tried to discredit Kit with these unfounded allegations, in the hope that they might outweigh Kit’s own revelations. It is for Kit to decide whether he wants to take legal action against her slurs but if he does, I’ll say here and now that I’m prepared to stand up in court and act as a witness for him. We all need to find some peace and closure on this. It’s been four years of suffering for us, and for Kit, and we need to move forward with our lives.

That is all I have to say. I will not be making any further comment on the matter and request you respect the privacy of my young family. Thank you.’

Clover pressed pause.

For several moments, there was an amazed silence. She knew that none of the reporters gathered could ever have expected they were going to land a scoop on one of the biggest stories in sport, standing here outside the hotel. Then they thrust their microphones towards her, their voices clashing and falling over one another in a rush of broken English.

‘Ms Phillips, can you confirm if Kit will sue Amy for defamation?’

‘Clover, are you the same woman lying on the ground in the photographs taken outside the restaurant in Austria?’

‘Has Kit approved this press conference?’