British Cycling is "not perfect" but "does a lot of good", according to double Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell-Shand.
The organisation is the subject of an independent investigation over claims of a bullying culture, with sprinter Jess Varnish accusing former technical director Shane Sutton of using sexist language towards her.
A draft version of the independent panel's report was leaked to the Daily Mail and was scathing in its criticism of British Cycling's own handling of Varnish's allegations.
Rowsell-Shand, who won team pursuit gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics but has now retired from the sport, says British Cycling was a "tough" environment but never personally experienced anything which could be described as bullying or discrimination.
"I've come through the whole system and won two Olympic gold medals and I wouldn't have been able to do that if I'd experienced sexism," she said in an interview with The Times.
"I felt my medal was worth the same to British Cycling as the men's. It's hard to comment on other squads and their experiences - and I don't want to discount other people's claims - but my experience was that my medal was worth as much as, say, Ed Clancy's.
"Elite sport is really tough. It's not all fun and games. Everything we did on track was filmed and analysed, everything we did was scrutinised. And, if you're having a bad day, it's there for all to see.
"I didn't fear British Cycling. I accepted the commitment that was needed, accepted it and dedicated a decade of my life to it.
"British Cycling is not perfect and people's complaints need to be addressed, but they have done a lot of good. I could have been a vulnerable target because of my alopecia but I wasn't treated differently for one second. No one said a word."
The final version of the independent panel report is expected to be published soon.
