Inappropriate Olympian Luana Alonso wanted to swim for U.S.

Article content

The rift between the Paraguayan Olympic Committee and the headline-grabbing swimmer who was sent home for “inappropriate” behaviour seemingly is deeper than first thought.

Article content

Olympic swimmer Luana Alonso reportedly wanted to compete for the U.S. team at the Summer Games in Paris instead of representing her home country.

“I want to represent the United States more,” Alonso allegedly said during a video on social media before the Games, Paraguayan outlet HOY reported.

According to the report, Alonso wanted to change her allegiance because she was attending college in the U.S. and also because Olympic qualifications in America are much different than in Paraguay.

She competed for one season at Southern Methodist University as a sophomore and also attended Virginia Tech University in 2021-22.

Article content

The 20-year-old had qualified for the women’s 100-metre Butterfly through the universality system, which is designed to increase the diversity of participating nations at the Games.

During the video, Alonso allegedly slammed the Paraguay Olympic Committee’s (COP) treatment of its athletes.

“They threaten me that they are going to publish a statement, that I am going to leave because of universality, if I support my sport it is thanks to my sponsors, they want to humiliate me and say ‘it is not a big deal that you are leaving because of universality’ and like no Paraguayan woman has ever made a mark for the Olympic Games and to tell me that and on top of that I am one second away is nothing,” Alonso said.

She added that there was tension with Olympic teammates and Paraguayan officials, who don’t “support” or “trust” the athletes.

Article content

Article content

“It’s not a pleasure to represent Paraguay and, if it were up to me, I would go back to college,” she said.

COP president Camilo Perez called out Alonso, saying that her times wouldn’t have been good enough to make the U.S. team.

“I read that she wants to compete for the United States,” Perez said, according to UNILAD. “There is no universality there. She came here as a Paraguayan. She has to train a lot more to represent U.S.A., her times have to be much better.”

The report is the latest in a string of headlines involving Alonso that had nothing to do with her performance in the pool.

Article content

Article content

Her biggest splash came when she was given the boot from the Olympic Village earlier this week.

According to Larissa Schaerer, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, Alonso was “creating an inappropriate atmosphere” around the team and was asked to leave the athletes’ dorms.

“Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay,” Schaerer said in a statement.

“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.”

Article content

The Daily Mail reported that Alonso was accused of being a distraction to her fellow competitors with her socializing and attire.

She was often seen sporting stylish outfits as opposed to team uniforms and opted to take a trip to Disneyland Paris instead of cheer on her compatriots.

She fired back at those reports, insisting that they are “false information” and that she wasn’t asked to leave.

“I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information,” Alonso posted in her Instagram Stories in Spanish, according to the Daily Beast.

“I don’t want to give any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either.”

Alonso competed in the women’s 100-metre butterfly on July 27, but finished sixth in her heat with a time of one minute 3.09 seconds and didn’t qualify for the semifinals.

After getting bounced, she abruptly announced her retirement from competitive swimming on her Instagram account.

Article content

“It’s official! I’m retiring from swimming, thank you all so much for your support!” Alonso wrote. “Sorry Paraguay. I just have to say thank you!”

Article content