Paula Radcliffe has apologised for his defence of the controversial Dutch decision to allow convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde to compete in The Paris Olympicsin which he said: “I really wish you the best of luck.”
Van de Valde, 29, is representing the Netherlands in beach volleyball at the Games, despite being sentenced to four years in prison in 2016. for raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. While his involvement has been condemned by everyone from Australian chef de mission Anna Meares to multiple victims’ advocacy groups, Radcliffe, Britain’s former marathon world record holder, argued that he should be shown mercy.
Describing the idea of banning Van de Velde as a “very dangerous line to follow”, he said: “We allow people who cheat in sport and take drugs to come back and compete. He was 19 at the time and has already served his prison sentence. That’s a long time to continue paying for that mistake for the rest of his life. It’s possible he has turned things around and repented completely. Certainly, one is hopeful.
“I know he is married now and has settled down. I think it is hard to punish him twice. If he has managed to turn his life around after being in prison and has managed to qualify and play at the highest level of sport, I wish him the best of luck. If it were to happen again now or if it had been last year, I would say something different. But I think the difference in learning between 19 and 29 years of age is enormous.”
She later apologised for those comments, made on Andrew Marr’s LBC show, telling an X user, formerly of Twitter: “I can only apologise, that’s not what I meant. I stress that it’s not something that can be excused in any way. I was confused in my head.”
Radcliffe’s argument that Van de Velde deserved to be at the Games failed to take into account the fact that Judge Francis Sheridan had told him at sentencing: “Before you came to this country, you were training to be a successful Olympic athlete. Your hopes of representing your country are now a shattered dream.” His own defence lawyer, Linda Strudwick, said of the verdict: “The headlines say it all: ‘A sex monster. It’s clearly the end of his career. ’”
On the contrary, Van de Velde has been allowed by the Dutch Olympic Committee and the volleyball federation to rehabilitate his career. He and his playing partner Matthew Immers are ranked 11th in the world and are considered realistic candidates for a medal in Paris. The Dutch have formed a tight protective cordon around him, ordering him to stay away from the athletes’ village and forbidding him to speak to the media.
Pieter van den Hoogenband, the Olympic champion swimmer who now heads the Dutch delegation, has expressed surprise at the intensity of the reaction. “He has been active in international sport, in the world of beach volleyball, for a long time,” he said. “He has played in World Cups, European Championships, but then you see that things are different around the Games. Things are exaggerated.”
Van de Velde will be under global scrutiny on Sunday following her event, which will take place in a specially built stadium next to the Eiffel Tower. An International Olympic Committee spokesman stressed that the organisation had no role in her appointment and that “special additional protective measures” had been taken.
Some rival nations have been adamant about not selecting athletes with criminal records. “If an athlete or staff member had that conviction, they would not be a member of our team,” said Meares, a two-time Olympic champion with Australia. “We have strict safeguarding policies.”
