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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
John Dunne

Paula Radcliffe says sorry for wishing Paris Olympics convicted child rapist ‘best of luck’

Paula Radcliffe has apologised for wishing “best of luck” to a convicted rapist set to compete for the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics.

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping the 12-year-old girl when he was 19.

His inclusion in the Netherlands team for Paris has sparked outrage, with van de Velde staying in a secret location rather than the athletes’ village.

In an interview on LBC, Radcliffe, who will be in Paris working for the BBC, was asked whether there should be rules regarding the participation of certain athletes.

She said: “I think that is a very dangerous line to go down given that we allow people who cheat in sport and take drugs in sport to then come back and then compete.

“I think it’s a tough thing to do to punish him twice and if he’s managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison and to qualify and to be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck,” she added.

Four-time Olympian Radcliffe later responded to a post on Twitter/X criticising her remarks as “shocking” by writing: “I agree and can only apologise, that isn’t what I intended to say.

“I stress that it isn’t something that can be excused in any way.

I was… responding to the right to ban him from the Games and I don’t know why I wished him luck.

“Again I apologise.”

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