Steven van de Velde, Olympic beach volleyball player convicted of rape, advances to round-of-16

AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP) — The Dutch Olympian who was convicted in 2016 of raping a girl in England advanced to the knockout round of the beach volleyball tournament, even with a loss in the final match of pool play. Steven van de Velde and his partner, Matthew Immers, will play in the round-of 16 on Sunday or Monday. An opponent and time of match have not been determined. The Dutch lost in straight sets to Tokyo gold medalists Anders Mol and Christian Sorum. Fans again wooed and whistled at Van de Velde on every serve.