Paula Radcliffe apologises for wishing convicted rapist at Olympics the ‘best of luck’

'He served his jail time, and it's a long time to carry on paying for that mistake'

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old when he was 19, will be competing at the games for the Netherlands.

His selection for this year's Olympics has been condemned by many, particularly women's safety groups.

However, during an appearance on LBC's Andrew Marr Tonight show, former Team GB Olympian Radcliffe suggested he shouldn't be 'punished twice' for his actions.

She said banning Van de Velde from competing at the Olympics was a "very dangerous line to go down, given that we allow people who cheat in sport and take drugs in sport to come back."

She continued: "He 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 round and completely repented.

“I know that he is married now and has settled down. I think it’s a tough thing to do to punish him twice and 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.”

Her comments sparked an immediate backlash, and the former marathon has since apologised.

“I agree and can only apologise, that isn’t what I intended to say,” she said.

“I stress that it isn’t something that can be excused in any way. I was confused in my head and responding to the right to ban him from the Games and I don’t know why I wished him luck. Again I apologise.”

Van de Velde, now 29, received a four years sentence in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a child, which took place in August 2014.

He had met the British girl on Facebook and flown to England to meet her with full knowledge of her age, the Guardian reports.

The athlete only served 12 months of his sentence before he was released.

The British Olympic Association's safeguarding rules would not have permitted Van de Velde to be included in Team GB, and earlier this week the Australian Olympic team confirmed that it had the same position.

However, the head of the Netherlands team has revealed the negative reaction to Van de Velde's selection has surprised him.

He said: “He [Van de Velde] has been active in international sport, the beach volleyball world, for some time. He has played World Cups, European Championships and World Cups, but then you see that things are different around the Games. That things are exaggerated.”