Paraguay's Olympic boss has savage response to swimmer Luana Alonso "wanting to represent America"

Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso seems to be at war with her country since crashing out of the Women's 100m Butterfly event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris in the heats.

Alonso failed to progress in the competition and the 20-year-old announced her retirement from the sport soon after in an Instagram post.

Since then, it's reported she snuck out to Disneyland one night much to the annoyance of team bosses, had been staying in the village after retiring from the sport and had been creating an "inappropriate environment".

In a statement issued to The Sun, Larissa Schaerer, Paraguayan Olympic Committee (COP) boss, said: "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."

But Alonso hit back at the claims on her Instagram story.

According to The Daily Beast, her post translated as: "I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information. I don't want to give any statement but I'm not going to let lies affect me either."

Luana Alonso hit back at the claims on her Instagram story / @luanalonsom, Instagram

It seems tensions have been bubbling under the surface between Alonso and bosses at Paraguay's Olympic Committee for a while though.

Before the Olympics, Alonso reportedly admitted she "wants to represent America more", according to Paraguayan outlet Hoy.

Hoy claimed Alonso wanted to swim for America as that's where she attended college and qualifying for Team USA at the Olympics is very different compared to Paraguay.

She qualified for the Olympics through the universality system which is available in certain sports for nations which usually have a small number of participants.

"They threaten me that they are going to publish a statement, that I am going to leave because of universality," she said.

"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.

"It's not a pleasure to represent Paraguay and if it were up to me, I would go back to college."

According to a report from AS Sport, Camilo Perez, the president of the COP, responded to Alonso's comments and made a scathing one aimed at the former young swimmer.

"I read that she wants to compete for America," she said.

"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."

Ouch.

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