The atmosphere in the Paraguayan Olympic team in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has become tense after an unexpected incident with the swimmer Luana AlonsoThe young athlete, who recently announced her retirement from swimming, was invited to leave the Villa Olympic due to what team management deemed “undisciplined conduct” and the creation of an “inappropriate environment.”
Luana Alonso, from just 20 yearshad participated on Saturday, July 27 in the 100-meter butterfly event, where she finished in sixth place with a time of 1:03.09. Despite not having achieved the result she had hoped for, Alonso expressed feeling satisfied to have concluded her career in such a prestigious event as the Olympic Games.
“I had mixed feelings because it didn’t go the way I wanted, to be able to finish my career in a comfortable way, but I’m happy that my last competition is at the Olympic Games,” she told the agency. The Associated Press.
Luana Alonso at the Paris 2024 Olympics
However, the outcome of their participation in the games was not as smooth as expected. The head of mission of the Paraguayan Olympic team, Larissa Schaerersent an email to Alonso requesting his immediate withdrawal from the Olympic Village.
The email, which was sent to the athlete on Thursday morning, stated: “His presence today is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within the Paraguay team.. We would appreciate it if you proceeded as instructed, as it was of your own free will that you did not spend the night in the Athletes’ Village,” the media reported. ABC Paraguay.
The message also referred to a previous request by Alonso to leave the Olympic Village, which had been approved by Schaerer.Make effective immediately your withdrawal from the Athletes’ Village of the aforementioned eventwhich was requested by you and authorized by this Head of Mission,” indicated another part of the email.
For Alonso, these Olympic Games represented an opportunity to fully enjoy the Olympic experience, something he was unable to do in Tokio 2020 due to health complications related to the Covid-19.
Luana Alonso, during the World Championships in Doha
“This is the first time I’ve truly experienced the Olympic Games, even though I was in Tokyo, I had Covid and I wasn’t well,” the swimmer explained, avoiding going into details about her health problems at the time. “Despite that, I feel like I did a lot of things for my country… I gave them a lot of joy.”
Alonso, a prominent figure on social media with thousands of followers, said his decision to retire was not influenced by media pressure.
“I’m not retiring because of that pressure. That’s totally separate, I always knew how to deal with social media with my sports career,” she clarified. The young woman holds four national records in Paraguay and has been an inspiration to many in his country.
However, his premature retirement from the Olympic Village and the context in which it occurred has generated a debate about the management of the situation by the organizers of the Paraguay Olympic team has caused some to question the need for such a drastic measure, especially given that Alonso He had already announced his retirement and apparently had no plans to interfere with the team’s activities.