Luana Alonso infuriated her Olympic bosses before the Games in Paris by reportedly claiming that she would prefer to compete for the United States over Paraguay.
The glamorous swimmer represented the South American nation during the Olympics in the French capital, finishing sixth in the first round of the 100m butterfly as she missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals.
Alonso was then reportedly removed from the athletes village as Paraguay blamed her for creating an ‘inappropriate atmosphere’ with her behaviour.
But the 20-year-old insisted that she is the victim of ‘lies’ and ‘false information’ following the statement from the Paraguayan Olympic Committee.
A report from Paraguayan publication HOY, has now claimed that she stated that she would prefer to represent the United States, long before competing at the Paris Olympics.
Luana Alonso was reportedly kicked out of the athletes village over ‘inappropriate conduct’
The glamorous swimmer represented Paraguay in the 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics
Alonso has claimed that she is the victim of ‘lies’ and ‘false information’ after the reports
Reports in Paraguay claim that she voiced her desire to represent the USA over the South American nation (pictured back in the United States in an Instagram story on Sunday’
It’s said that her claims arose after qualifying for the Olympics through the universality system – which is designed to increase the diversity of participating nations in the Games.
Alonso said: ‘I want to represent the United States more’, before adding ‘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’.’
She added that she preferred to return to college in Texas because of the tension she experienced about 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 college.’
In a report from AS Sport, Camilo Perez, president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, responded to the alleged claims from Alonso by saying: ‘I read that she wants to compete for the United States.
‘There is no universality there. She came here as a Paraguayan. She has to train a lot more to represent USA, her times have to be much better.’
The Paraguayan lives in the States, where she attends the Southern Methodist University near Dallas, Texas, and also swims for the Dallas Mustangs.
Alonso lives in the United States and attends a college in Dallas, Texas, where she also swims for the Dallas Mustangs
Alonso bumped into Rafael Nadal (right) during the games and shared a snap of the pair on X
The Paraguay star started swimming at a young age and first competed at 11 years old
Alonso, pictured during the opening ceremony, boasts an Instagram following of around 600,000
In an Instagram story on Sunday night, she revealed that she was back in the United States, as she posted a video of her in a car with the American flag flying outside.
After competing in the swimming, she sensationally announced her retirement in an Instagram post – but remained in Paris.
She had been seen walking round in her own choice of outfits rather than the official uniforms provided by Paraguayan team chiefs.
She had also been spotted 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 stores and restaurants, posting photos to her 600,000 followers on social media.
But the Paraguayan team removed the 20-year-old from the athletes village and cited Alonso’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ as justification for doing so as the Olympics enters its final week of competition.
The statement did not expand on what her inappropriate behaviour was.
A statement from Larissa Schaerer, the head of the COP mission, read: ‘Her 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.’
Alonso previously raced in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back due to COVID
But in a statement on Instagram on Monday, Alonso said: ‘I just wanted to clarify that I was never kicked out or expelled from anywhere, please stop spreading false information.
‘I don’t want to make any statement 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 previously made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games four years previous and is amongst the youngest competitors to retire at the age of just 20.
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 many more.
‘I gave you part of my life and I don’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 them in my heart, unique opportunities.
‘It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon.’
