Australia leads backlash against convicted rapist Steven van de Velde at Paris Olympics: ‘Not allowed’

Chief of Mission Anna Meares has put Australia at the forefront of a global backlash against a convicted rapist set to represent the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics.

29-year-old Steven van de Velde was called up to the Dutch national beach volleyball team last month.

He returned to the sport in 2017 after serving just 12 months of a four-year prison sentence for pleading guilty to raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19.

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Van de Velde met the victim via Facebook and committed the crime in England after traveling from the Netherlands.

His case is once again in the spotlight ahead of the Olympics, when a question was put to Australia’s Tokyo silver medallists Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy in Paris.

Both hesitated for a moment before Meares volunteered an answer.

“It is not our position to comment on other NOCs (National Olympic Committees) and their applicable policies,” Meares said.

“But we can comment on the policies we have for the Australian Olympic team. If an athlete or staff member faced that conviction, they would not be allowed to join our team.”

Meares noted that Australia has several youth athletes in the squad.

“We have very strict policies in place to protect our team,” she said.

“We have full confidence in these policies and the awareness training we have provided to our staff and athletes.

“We have a number of athletes under 18 and under 16 and therefore these guidelines are in place to protect our team.”

Van de Velde was assigned accommodation outside the village and was forbidden from speaking to the media.

Australia has two teams in the men’s beach volleyball competition, but will not be able to face van de Velde until the knockout rounds, who will play in Group B with teammate Matthew Immers.

Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis earned their place almost a month ago, joining the top national pair Zachery Schubert and Thomas Hodges.

Australia’s beach volleyball players will compete under the Eiffel Tower. Credit: AAP

Hodges moved from indoor volleyball to join Schubert, a high-energy team. The fun-loving pair overcame long injuries and are also among the contenders for gold in Paris in their Olympic debut.

“I had surgery on both knees after the last games,” said Schubert, who breeds crickets as a side job for his family.

“Hodgey was a big help during the process. You and your buddy compete for a year and a half during the qualifying phase.

“It’s hard; you have to be good friends because you have to go through ups and downs. Being here in Paris is what we dreamed of.”

Beach volleyball will be played in a temporary stadium next to the Eiffel Tower.

“It’s incredible, I mean, look at her,” Artacho del Solar said after getting sand between her toes at the venue on Monday.

“It’s just breathtaking and very special to play here, such an iconic event… it’s one of my favourite cities and I just find the Eiffel Tower so magical.

“But once I cross those green lines (that mark the boundaries of the field), everything is blurry, like white noise. I’m all in.”

– with AAP

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