Convicted rapist Steven van de Velde broke down in tears after he was knocked out of the men’s beach volleyball competition at the Paris Olympics.
Dutchman Van de Velde, competing alongside fellow countryman Matthew Immers, suffered a straight-sets defeat to Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci, bringing their campaign to an end at the round-of-16 stage.
Van de Velde’s participation has proved one of the most divisive talking points of this summer’s Games, with the 29-year-old convicted for the rape of a 12-year-old English girl in 2016.
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But while fans, victims and a host of high-profile sporting figures have joined in condemning Van de Velde’s inclusion both before and during the competition, the IOC were ultimately powerless in preventing him from taking part.
The Netherlands’ emphatic loss at the hands of Brazil means Van de Velde will now be heading home, though, and the Dutchman – whose name remains on the sex offenders registry – was booed each and every time he served at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.
There were also loud jeers as Van de Velde made his way on and off the court this evening, with his partner, Immers, describing the the match as an ’emotional rollercoaster’ for all involved.
‘We fought. We enjoyed every moment. So I’m really proud of that,’ Immers said after the Netherlands’ elimination was confirmed.
‘It was the coolest stadium I ever played in… I’m sad that we couldn’t show our level.
‘But everything around it, I enjoyed it.’
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‘If I can speak for him, after the match we lost, we were disappointed,’ Immmers added.
‘But we said to each other: “Look what we did together. Look how hard we fought with all the attention”. We stayed together.
Immers – who previously pleaded with fans not to boo Van de Velde – insisted he was still immensely ‘proud’ of finishing ninth in Paris.
‘We still got a ninth on our first Olympics and I’m proud of that,’ he continued.
‘And we keep on going.’