Luana Alonso angered her Olympic superiors ahead of the Paris Games by reportedly saying she would rather compete for the United States than Paraguay.
The glamorous swimmer represented the South American nation during the Paris Olympics, finishing sixth in the first round of the 100-meter butterfly, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals.
Alonso was then reportedly expelled from the Olympic village because Paraguay blamed her for creating an “inappropriate atmosphere” with her behavior.
Despite the Paraguayan Olympic Committee’s statement, the 20-year-old came forward insisting that she is the victim of “lies” and “false information.”
A report from a Paraguayan publication TODAYShe has now claimed that she declared she would prefer to represent the United States, long before competing at the Paris Olympics.
Luana Alonso reportedly expelled from the Olympic village for ‘inappropriate conduct’
The glamorous swimmer represented Paraguay in the 100-meter butterfly at the Paris Olympics
Alonso has assured that he is the victim of ‘lies’ and ‘false information’ following the reports
Reports in Paraguay claim she expressed a desire to represent the U.S. rather than the South American nation (pictured in the U.S. in an Instagram story on Sunday).
Her claims are said to have come after she qualified for the Olympics through the universality system, which is designed to increase the diversity of nations participating in the Games.
Alonso said: ‘I want to represent the United States more,’ before adding ‘tHey, they threaten me that they are going to publish a statement, that I am going to go for universality.
“If I support my sport it is thanks to my sponsors, they want to humiliate me and tell me ‘it’s not a big deal that you’re going to universality’.”
She added that she preferred to return to college in Texas because of the stress she experienced in qualifying for the World Aquatics Championships.
Alonso said:Instead of supporting and saying ‘damn, we trust the athletes’, not like ‘you’re going for the World Cup, we don’t care’, that’s why it’s not a pleasure to represent Paraguay and if it were up to me, I would go back to university.’
In a report by AS SportCamilo Pérez, president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, responded to Alonso’s alleged claims by saying: ‘I read that she wants to compete for the United States.
“There is no universality in that. She came here as a Paraguayan. She has to train a lot more to represent the United States, her times have to be much better.”
The Paraguayan lives in the United States, where she attends Southern Methodist University near Dallas, Texas, and also swims for the Dallas Mustangs.
Alonso lives in the United States and attends a university in Dallas, Texas, where he also swims for the Dallas Mustangs.
Alonso bumped into Rafael Nadal (right) during the matches and shared a photo of the couple on X
The Paraguayan star began swimming at an early age and competed for the first time at age 11.
Alonso, pictured during the opening ceremony, has around 600,000 followers on Instagram.
In an Instagram story on Sunday night, she revealed that she was back in the United States, as she posted a video of herself in a car with the American flag waving outside.
After competing in swimming, she sensationally announced her retirement in an Instagram post, but remained in Paris.
She had been seen walking around in clothes she had chosen herself instead of the official uniforms provided by the Paraguayan team bosses.
She had also been seen hanging out with other athletes and was said to be distracting her teammates who were still competing in the Games.
Alonso even checked into a hotel in the French capital and visited luxury shops and restaurants, posting photos for his 600,000 followers on social media.
But the Paraguayan team expelled the 20-year-old from the Olympic village, citing Alonso’s “inappropriate behaviour” as justification for doing so as the Olympics enter their final week of competition.
The statement did not elaborate on what his inappropriate behavior was.
A statement from Larissa Schaerer, head of the COP mission, said: “Their presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay.
‘We thank you for having acted as instructed, as it was of your own free will that you did not spend the night in the Athletes’ Village.’
Alonso had already competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to COVID
But in a statement on Instagram on Monday, Alonso said: ‘I just wanted to clarify that I have never been kicked out or expelled from anywhere, please stop spreading false information.
“I don’t want to make any statements but I’m not going to let lies affect me either,” Alonso added alongside a photo of her enjoying a drink as the sun set.
The Paraguayan already made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games four years ago and is one of the youngest competitors to retire at just 20 years old.
Confirming her retirement last week, Alonso said: ‘Swimming: thank you for allowing me to dream, you taught me to fight, to try, perseverance, sacrifice, discipline and much more.
‘I gave you part of my life and I wouldn’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 in my heart, unique opportunities.
“It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you soon.”