- Steven Van de Velde traveled from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom to meet the girl
- He was sentenced to four years in prison, but was released after serving one year of his sentence
- Former Olympic athlete Paula Radcliffe has now wished him ‘the very best of luck’ in Paris
BBC pundit and Olympic athlete Paula Radcliffe wished good luck to a Dutch paedophile who raped a 12-year-old girl.
The former world and European running champion, who was in Paris on behalf of the presenter, made this shocking statement during a radio interview.
Beach volleyball player Steven Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after he confessed to raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19.
His participation in the team led to great controversy and security was tightened at the Dutch team’s base in the athletes’ village.
However, Radcliffe rejected the claim that Van de Velde should not be allowed to participate.
Former GB star Paula Radcliffe wished Steven Van de Velde ‘lots of luck’ at the Olympics
Dutch Olympic beach volleyball player Van de Velde was convicted of child abuse in 2016
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It is a difficult task to punish him [van de Velde] “Twice and if he’s managed to get his life back on track after being in prison and he’s qualified to play at the highest level of sport then I wish him the very best of luck,” she told LBC.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
Radcliffe also became embroiled in the scandal surrounding dressage star Charlotte Dujardin, who was banned for six months and withdrew from the Games after footage emerged of her repeatedly hitting a horse during a training session.
In an interview with Andrew Marr, the retired distance runner bizarrely said that while she found it “disturbing” to watch the video of Charlotte Dujardin whipping her horse, she “felt sympathy for both sides of the story, especially when that’s normal practice in dressage.”
Responding to an X user who called her comments “shocking,” she said: “I agree and can only apologise, that’s not what I meant to say. I stress that it’s not something that can be excused in any way. I was in a mess in my head and reacted to the right to ban him from the Games and I don’t know why I wished him luck. Again, my apologies.”