The reason for a Paraguayan swimmer's removal from the Olympic village has been revealed.
Earlier today (5 August), it was reported that 20-year-old Luana Alonso had been asked to leave the Paris Olympic village after allegedly creating an 'inappropriate environment' for other athletes.
Alonso had headed to Paris in order to compete in the women's 100m butterfly, but was unable to advance to the semi-finals after recording a time of 1:03.09, which is three seconds lower than her personal best.
Following her failure to advance, Alonso would later announce her retirement from swimming on social media in dramatic fashion, writing: "Swimming: thank you for allowing me to dream, you taught me to fight, to try, perseverance, sacrifice, discipline and many more.
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She continued: "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."
However, it was later announced that Alonso had been asked to leave the Paris Olympic village due to her behaviour.
Confirming Alonso's departure from Paris, Larissa Schaerer, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, said in a statement: "Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay.
"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."
Schaerer's statement did not elaborate further on the details behind Alonso's removal, however it has been reported in Paraguayan media that the swimmer had continued to stay in the Olympic village despite announcing her retirement from the sport.
Media outlets in Paraguay have also claimed that Alonso had spent time in Disneyland instead of supporting her teammates, upsetting the country’s Olympic leadership.
Alonso made her Olympic debut at the 2020 games in Tokyo, aged just 17. She also holds the records for the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly events in her home country of Paraguay.
Speaking further on her decision to retire from swimming in an interview with Claro Sports, the 20-year-old explained that it was something she had been considering for 'a long time'.
"People, my decision was made a long time ago! It wasn't because of the games! So nothing, I just have to thank everyone who always supported me," she said.
"It didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. I sincerely apologise to Paraguay, but I did what I could, despite several things that happened to me before. So, I’m happy and also to retire here with a full stadium and finally have the Olympic Games."
LADbible has approached the POC for comment.
Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News
Brenna Cooper