Beach volleyball begins at the Paris Olympics today in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and with the sport under the spotlight because of the inclusion of a Dutch player convicted of rape.
Steven van de Velde was convicted in 2016 of raping an underage girl and sentenced to four years in prison.
He served part of his sentence in the UK and was then transferred to the Netherlands, where he was eventually released and took up volleyball again in 2017.
Photo: Reuters
The Netherlands’ decision to pick the 29-year-old sparked outrage in the lead-up to the Games. He is not staying at the athletes’ village to “establish calm,” Dutch press agency ANP reported.
Officials said they would also take the unusual step of isolating him from his teammates during the Games and he has been banned from talking to the media.
His selection has drawn criticism from women’s and sports safety groups.
Australia said they would not pick anyone for the Olympics with a criminal conviction of that nature.
Van de Velde is to first appear on the sand with teammate Matthew Immers tomorrow, the second day of beach volleyball, when the Netherlands take on an Italian pair.
Twenty-four teams start in both the men’s and women’s events, before being whittled down to 16 for the knockout stages, with the finals taking place on Aug. 9 and 10.
Beach volleyball has grown to become one of the most popular events at the Olympics since its inclusion for the first time in 1996.
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