Australian Olympian Rohan Dennis has spoken out for the first time after receiving a suspended sentence over the death of his wife.

Dennis pleaded guilty before an Adelaide magistrate to an aggravated charge of creating likelihood of harm, following Melissa Hoskins’ death after being hit by a car he was driving.

Ms Hoskins, who was an Olympic cyclist, died in December 2023 being hit by a Volkswagen ­Amarok Highline ute on Avenel Gardens Rd, Medindie.

“Yes it was an accident,” Dennis said in the statement.

“I loved Melissa and the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt her.

“Never in my life has any physical aggression crossed my mind in any disagreement with Melissa.”

Dennis took aim at the media saying “the narrative was always clear and they wanted me to look like a husband who abused his wife”.

“I have ALWAYS been against any sort of abuse against women and especially the one who gave birth to my children,” he said.

“The things which I and others vividly remember that were said to me in front of my 2 year old daughter are disgusting.”

During his trial, the court was told that the couple had argued over kitchen renovations before Dennis drove off along a laneway beside their home.

Ms Hoskins climbed onto the bonnet of the car before falling and being run over.

The 32-year-old had critical injuries and died in Royal Adelaide Hospital and was laid to rest in Fremantle in January 2024.

Describing the consequences of what occurred as tragic “really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife”, Judge Ian Press told Dennis during sentencing.

The same single-mindedness that made them highly successful athletes “could sometimes lead to you both taking an intractable position during some dispute”, Judge Press said.

“I accept you have a sense of responsibility for all that occurred. I accept you have anguished over what could have been different if you had acted in some other way.”

It was important to acknowledge Dennis was not charged with causing the death of his wife, Judge Press said.

Driving at any speed when a person is on the bonnet was “an inherently risky and dangerous act”, Judge Press said.

After Ms Hoskins got off the bonnet, she opened the door, which Dennis closed without stopping.

“Unbeknownst to you, your wife held onto the car as you accelerated down the street. It was then that she fell and lost her life,” Judge Press said.

He was sentenced to one year, four months and 28 days in jail, reduced from two years and two months because of his guilty plea.

Dennis agreed to a $100, two-year good behaviour bond and his driver’s licence was suspended for five years.

The judge warned him that any breach of the driving suspension would be a breach of the bond and Dennis would be jailed.

with AAP.