Who is Steven van de Velde’s wife? All about convicted Olympic child rapist denied Australian visa for championship

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands had his visa declined for the 2025 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australia.

According to the BBC, Kyam Maher, South Australia's Attorney-General, wrote to the federal government about the visa for van de Velde. In his letter, Maher described Van de Velde's crimes as “utterly abhorrent.” He added that “foreign child s*x offenders should not be granted entry to this country.”

Van de Velde was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016. It led to his sentence of four years in prison. However, he served about 13 months and was released under Dutch law adjustments.

He is married to Kim van de Velde. She is a professional volleyball player from Germany and a police officer. They got married in 2022 and are parents to a son.

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Everything we need to know about Steven van de Velde

Steven van de Velde was born in August 1994 in The Hague, Netherlands. He grew up in a family of sports enthusiasts. His brother-in-law is German footballer Kevin Behrens.

From a young age, he has always had an affinity for Volleyball. In 2011, he won the Under-20 Dutch National Championships, and from there he was in a position to represent the Netherlands in international competitions, including the 2015 European Games. He won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championships held in the Netherlands.

After being convicted of raping a young British girl and serving several months in prison, Steven van de Velde resumed her professional career.

Steven van de Velde also took part in the beach volleyball competition at the Paris Olympics, which were held last year. He and his teammate Matthew Immers advanced to the quarter-finals and were defeated in straight sets by Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Lanci from Brazil.

When he was asked by the Company NOS from Dutch media to share his view about quitting the Olympics in Paris Van de Velde stated that he thought about it both before as well as during the match. He said:

“I thought: ‘I don’t want that. I’m not going to give others the power to decide they can bully me away or get rid of me.’”

Reports stated that Steven van de Velde was consistently booed and jeered throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics which also impacted his focus and performance.

He also spoke about his past and shared a statement which has been posted on the website of the Netherlands Volleyball Federation. He said:

“I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.”

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Steven van de Velde was meant to participate in the Beach Volleyball World Championships in South Australia. However, claims suggest that he was denied entry by Australian authorities due to his past criminal record. Additionally, Alexander Brouwer, his teammate, will also be absent from the competition.

Steven van de Velde admitted that he and his team suspected that the policies of the Australian government might create an issue with his visa. He added that if given a chance, he would have loved to compete in his Seventh World Championships.

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