‘Ashamed’ Paula Radcliffe issues further apology after wishing child rapist athlete good luck at Olympics

25 July 2024, 15:11 | Updated: 25 July 2024, 15:39

Paula Radcliffe has issued another apology for defending the selection of an Olympic athlete who has a child rape conviction.

British former distance runner Ms Radcliffe was asked on LBC whether Steven Van de Velde should be allowed to compete, despite his offence.

She said Van de Velde was '19 at the time and he’s served his jail time and it’s a long time to carry on paying for that mistake for the rest of your life.'Her comments have sparked outrage and she has been individually apologising to people on social media.

Taking to X, the legendary runner wrote: "Last night I gave an interview and made some comments that I deeply regret.

"I want to sincerely apologise and emphasise how much I categorically condemn the crime of rape. I am ashamed that my words so inaccurately represented myself. It was a mistake not to clearly denounce this at the beginning.

"In trying to explain how the athlete in question could possibly be allowed to compete at the Olympic Games, my thought process referred to the legalities and regulations when I also intended to highlight the danger of these allowing an athlete convicted of such a crime to return.

"Competing in the Olympic Games is a privilege that should be reserved for those who uphold the Olympic moral ideals. I absolutely should not have wished him luck and genuinely have no explanation for why I said that.

"I am truly sorry for so wrongly expressing my intended views and understand that this statement can in no way repair the damage but hopefully conveys my deep regret."

Paula Radcliffe joins Andrew Marr as Team GB head to the Olympics

Van de Velde, who was 19 at the time of the assault, admitted three counts of rape against a child he met after travelling from Amsterdam in August 2014.

He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016, but was allowed to return to the Netherlands to complete his sentence and was released after a year.

His decision to compete in the Paris games has been controversial, with some arguing he should not have been allowed to compete.

“It’s a very dangerous line to go down given that we allow people who cheat in sports and take drugs to then come back and compete,” Ms Radcliffe told LBC’s Andrew Marr last night.

“To ban someone, as I understand it, he was 19 at the time and he’s served his jail time and it’s a long time to carry on paying for that mistake for the rest of your life.

“He may well have turned it around and completely repented. You certainly hope, I know that he is married now and has settled down.”

The former long-distance runner said it would be a ‘tough thing to do’ to ‘punish him twice’ given that he has already served his jail sentence.

“If he’s managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison and to qualify and to be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck,” she added.

Following van de Velde's in 2017, he said: "I do want to correct all the nonsense that has been written about me when I was locked up.

"I did not read any of it, on purpose, but I understand that it was quite bad, that I have been branded as a sex monster, as a paedophile. That I am not, really not.

"Everyone can have their opinion about me, but it is only fair if they also know my side of the story."

Ciara Bergman, the CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales said the “irresponsible” inclusion of Van de Velde at the Olympics creates an “enormous sense of impunity”.

She added: “If you can rape a child and still compete in the Olympics, despite all athletes signing a declaration promising to be a role model, that is just shocking.”

The inclusion of Van de Velde could have an "impact" on survivors of assault.

She continued: “There is always an impact on the individual victim survivor, but every act of violence against women and girls is a crime against society. It has a collateral and collective impact on all other women and girls.”