Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso is speaking out following reports she was thrown out of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 20-year-old athlete took to her Instagram Story on Monday, August 5, with a statement regarding the alleged drama at the Games. “I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere,” she wrote, per a Spanish translation.
Alonso called out the “false information” being spread about her Olympic experience. “I don’t want to give any statement, but I’m not going to let lies affect me either,” she added.
Alonso, who attends Southern Methodist University in Dallas, failed to qualify for the women’s 100m butterfly semifinals after the Olympics kicked off in Paris last month. She tearfully announced her retirement from the sport on television before sharing another emotional message via Instagram.
“Sorry Paraguay, I only have to thank you,” she wrote following her elimination.
Despite her disappointing result — Alonso finished her heat in sixth place with a time three seconds slower than her personal best — the athlete continued to enjoy what Paris had to offer throughout the Games. She shared glimpses of her travels via social media, from visits to the Eiffel Tower to selfies with other Olympians. Alonso even spent time at Disneyland Paris, which reportedly sparked controversy.
“Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay,” Larissa Schaerer, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, said in a statement on Monday. “We thank her for proceeding as instructed, as it was of her own free will that she did not spend the night in the Athletes’ Village.”
President of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee Camilo Perez also noted to a Paraguayan radio station, “We are a serious team that seeks to compete, not to go sightseeing.”
According to the Daily Mail, Alonso became a “distraction” once she was no longer competing due to her alleged disregard for the Olympic Village’s rules. She was asked to stay in a hotel instead, a request she agreed to, but was still allowed to watch the remaining Olympic events.
Alonso revealed via Instagram on Monday that she returned to the U.S. Following her last race on July 27, Alonso wrote a thoughtful message about her admiration for the sport.
“Swimming: thank you for allowing me to dream, you taught me to fight, to try, perseverance, sacrifice, discipline and many more,” she captioned an Instagram post. “I gave you part of my life and I don’t change it for anything in the world because I lived the best experiences of my life, you gave me thousands of joys, friends from other countries that I will always carry them in my heart, unique opportunities. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon 💙.”
