2024-08-06 20:45:02
Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso has hit back at allegations she was booted from the Olympic Village at the 2024 Paris Games due to “inappropriate” conduct.
In a message shared Monday on her Instagram Stories, the 20-year-old competitor — who has been accused of being a distraction to athletes with her attire and socializing — called the narrative surrounding the controversy “false.”
“I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information,” Alonso wrote, according to the Daily Beast.
“I don’t want to give any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either.”
The message was shared next to a sunset photo as she sipped a beverage.
It had been reported in Paraguayan media outlets that Alonso — whose profile was on the rise ahead of the Games — took in Disneyland Paris instead of cheering on her compatriots, allegedly upsetting the country’s Olympic brass.
In an Instagram Story shared one week ago, Alonso could be seen modeling Mickey Mouse ears while at the theme park.
Alonso failed to advance out of her heat in the women’s 100m butterfly and into the semifinals last week. She then announced her retirement.
The two-time Olympian — who also traveled to the Tokyo Games in 2021 — reportedly had been staying in the Olympic Village even after confirming her retirement.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Larissa Schaerer, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, said in a recent statement that Alonso’s “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,” Schaerer said, per The Sun.
Alonso is based in Dallas and has competed at Southern Methodist University, according to her Instagram bio.
She boasts nearly 700,000 followers on the platform.
