Paraguay Swimmer Exiled From Olympics “Wanted To Represent” Team USA

A Paraguay athlete, who left the Olympic Village after reportedly creating an “inappropriate” atmosphere, is rumoured to have made an admission long before competing at the Paris Games. Luana Alonso, the swimmer, preferred to represent the United States at the 2024 Olympics over her native nation, the New York Post reported quoting Paraguayan media outlet HOY.

“I want to represent the United States more,” Alonso allegedly said during a live stream on Instagram before the Olympics. She added, “It’s not a pleasure to represent Paraguay and if it were up to me, I would go back to college.”

The Olympian was previously enrolled in two universities in the USA. She spent one season at Southern Methodist University and was also a student at Virginia Tech University from 2021-2022. 

After failing to advance past the women’s 100m butterfly heats at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Luana Alonso appeared to be at odds with her nation. Following her lacklustre performance in the tournament, the swimmer announced her retirement on social media. 

Since then, rumours circulated that she had been living in the Olympic Village even after retirement and had been creating an “inappropriate environment,” for her fellow teammates. Alonso was booted out from The Village for sneaking out of the tournament to visit Disneyland.

In a statement released to The Sun, Larissa Schaerer, Paraguayan Olympic Committee chief, said, “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.”

Hitting back at the claims of expulsion from the Olympic Village, Alonso shared a note on her Instagram story, which read, “I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information. I don’t want to give any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either.”