Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who has a conviction for child rape, is out of the Olympics after he and his partner lost to Brazil in straight sets in the round of 16. 

Van der Velde has been followed by the world’s media and booed whenever on court since it emerged that in 2016 he had been convicted of child rape in England and had served over a year in jail for the crime. The offence took place when he was 19 and his victim was 12, which automatically qualifies as rape in English law.

• Why the Netherlands seems unfazed at sending a convicted child rapist to the Olympics

Despite widespread calls for him to be banned, the International Olympics Committee said it could not stop the Netherlands from sending an athlete who qualified in the usual way.

Dutch Olympic selectors also supported Van de Velde’s inclusion in their squad, pointing out that he has been participating in international beach volleyball tournaments since 2018.

Van der Velde, who now has a partner and a child, was kept away from the press during the tournament and did not sleep in the Olympic village. But his teammate Matthew Immers told broadcaster NOS after the game it has been very hard to deal with the media attention and the boos.

“We are going to press on, this is not the end of us,” Immers said. “We have given every game all we have to give and enjoyed that. And I want to say how super proud I am of him, how he has kept it together.”  

For Dutch readers, Chris Klomp untangles the legal situation

Ik zal er wel weer gezeik mee krijgen, maar de verhalen rond volleyballer Steven van de Velde storen mij ook wel een beetje. Maar eens een draadje.

— Chris Klomp (@chrisklomp) July 25, 2024