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Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso has taken to social media, responding to claims that she was removed from the Paris 2024 Olympics for creating an “inappropriate” environment.
It was understood that the 20-year-old had left France’s capital after being suspended from the Olympic village for her unprofessional behaviour.
Her departure came shortly after she failed to qualify for the Women’s 100m Butterfly semi-final last week, not long before she announced an early retirement from the sport.
However, Alonso has now revealed that she was never suspended from remaining in Paris, expressing to her 700,000 Instagram followers that the claims against her are untrue.
“I just wanted to clarify that I was never kicked out or expelled from anywhere, please stop spreading false information,” Alonso said in a statement that she posted on Monday.
“I don’t want to make any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either.”
The swimmer narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals of her event after finishing sixth in her heat – 0.24 seconds behind Georgia’s Ana Nizharadze.
And while it is unclear what Alonso did to provoke those in the Olympic Village – which accommodates around 14,250 athletes – the Paraguay Olympic Committee told French outlet Le Parisien that she had made her teammates feel uncomfortable.
Before the young athlete’s announcement on Instagram, Paraguay Olympic Committee boss Larissa Schaerer, a former tennis player who represented her nation at the 1992 Olympics, 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.”
Despite hinting at a dramatic exit from the sport, the future of Alonso’s career remains uncertain as, regardless of the stir she has caused, the swimmer has left the door open for a potential return.
On Instagram, she said: “Swimming: thank you for allowing me to dream, you taught me to fight, to try, perseverance, sacrifice, discipline and many more.
“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.”
