Steven van de Velde – the Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016, concluded his participation in the Paris Olympic Games. Van de Velde and his partner on the court, Matthew Immers, lost to the Brazilian team in two sets.

In his fourth and final match, Van de Velde was again subjected to a continuous stream of boos, insults, and abusive remarks every time he served or played a combination.

During the rally for the point that decided the final outcome of the match, Van de Velde was serving, and the crowd was booing him, but Evandro from the Brazilian team made a winning hit to win 21:16, 21:16 and end the participation of the "tulips" team in the Summer Games.

The teammates embraced, performed the usual post-match handshake with their opponents and the referees, and then sat on the bench for a few minutes, leaning on their knees. Van de Velde left, waving to the crowd, mostly to the orange-clad fans – the only ones who applauded him among the booing crowd.

"It was an emotional rollercoaster. That's how I see it," Immers said. "We fought. We enjoyed every moment. So I'm really proud of that. This was the coolest stadium I've ever played in. ... I'm sad that we couldn't show our level. But I liked everything about it."

As throughout the tournament, Van de Velde did not pass through the mixed zone to speak with reporters – something usually required of all Olympians. Immers stated that his partner needed a mental break.

"If I can speak on his behalf, after the match we lost. We were disappointed," Immers said. "But we told ourselves that we fought and went through everyone and all the attention diligently. We were a team, we talked a lot off the court and said to ourselves: 'Okay, let's just enjoy this moment.' And we did. That's why I'm happy," Immers said.

The 29-year-old Van de Velde served 13 months in prison after his 2016 rape conviction in England. Although a number of organizations supporting child rape victims, as well as politicians and fans, called for him to be banned from participating in the Olympic Games, the IOC stated that it was powerless to stop his country, the Netherlands, from sending an athlete who had qualified in the standard way.
BTA
Photo: AP