Paraguay’s Luana Alonso Ejected from Olympic Village for ‘Disruptive Conduct’

Luana Alonso of Paraguay caused a stir at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which led to her being kicked out of the Olympic Village.

In a statement released on Monday, August 5, via The Sun, Larissa Schaerer, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, stated that “her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay.”

Schaerer went on, “We are grateful that she followed our instructions and chose not to spend the night in the Athletes’ Village of her own free will.”

After Alonso, 20, was unable to get to the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter butterfly on July 27, she declared her retirement from competition.

She allegedly stirred much controversy at the Olympic Village during the games, though, by dressing inappropriately and not in the Paraguay team uniform. The Daily Mail claimed that the swimmer’s attire and disdain for the village’s regulations—where most competitors spend the entirety of the games sleeping—made her a “distraction.”

In addition, Alonso came under fire for touring the city and visiting Disneyland Paris rather than helping her teammates. Alonso was requested to relocate to a hotel, which she readily consented to, even though she was still permitted to remain and observe the remaining activities.

After the incident in Paris, Alonso announced on Instagram on Monday that she had returned to the United States. She is a student at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University (SMU) at the moment.

Alonso made headlines before leaving the Olympic Village when she revealed her retirement to her social media followers before supposedly telling the Olympic officials.

“Now that it’s official! I sincerely appreciate your support as I retire from swimming. The Spanish text that the athlete posted on Instagram on July 27 has been translated into English. “I just have to say thank you, Paraguay. I’m sorry.”

The next day, she sent out a second letter, wherein she wrote, “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 wouldn’t change a thing because I had the best experiences of my life, thousands of joys, friends from other countries that I will always hold dear, and amazing opportunities,” Alonso said in closing. It’s not farewell; rather, it’s see you soon.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Alonso made her Olympic debut. She did not win a medal at Paris or Tokyo.