Luana Alonso Addresses Allegations of Her Exit from the Olympics Village

Swimmer Luana Alonso has addressed rumors surrounding her departure from the Olympic Village, which some sources claimed was due to an “inappropriate atmosphere”.

On her Instagram account, the 20-year-old Paraguayan athlete sought to set the record straight following reports about her exit from Paris. Alonso had previously missed qualifying for the 100-meter butterfly event during her heats.

In a post accompanied by a sunset image, she expressed her frustration over the “lies” being spread to her 643,000 followers.

She stated in Spanish: “I want to clarify that I was never kicked out or expelled from anywhere. Please stop spreading false information.”

“I don’t want to elaborate further, but I’m not going to let lies affect me,” she added.

Earlier, Paraguay’s Olympic chief, Larissa Schaerer, commented to several media outlets, saying, “Her presence was creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay. Thank you to her for complying with our guidance, as it was her choice to leave the athletes’ village that night.”

Athletes have the option to stay in the Village, which accommodates over 14,000 competitors. The specifics of Alonso’s alleged behavior were not disclosed, and it appears she has since returned to the US.

Currently studying at Dallas University in Texas, Alonso shared a video of herself at border control. She narrowly missed advancing to the semi-finals, finishing sixth and just 0.24 seconds behind Georgia’s Ana Nizharadze.

On July 28, she shocked fans by announcing her retirement from swimming on social media. In her post, she reflected: “Swimming: thank you for the dreams, the lessons in perseverance, sacrifice and more. I lived incredible experiences and made friends from around the world. It’s not goodbye, just see you soon.”

Amid speculation that her retirement was linked to her Olympic performance, Alonso clarified in an interview with Claro Sports that her decision had been made long before the games, and was not a reaction to her performance in France. “I sincerely apologize to Paraguay, but I did my best despite the challenges,” she explained, adding how grateful she was to retire at such a prestigious event with a full stadium.

Alonso first made waves on the Olympic stage during her debut at the age of 17 in Tokyo.