What do we want? Controversy. When do we want it? Now. Let me tell you the tale of one Olympic swimmer, Luana Alonso. (I'll set the stage a little for y'all before we dive into the juicy part.) Alonso hails from Paraguay, and she courted her first controversy in the 2024 Olympics when she said she'd rather represent Team USA for the event than her home country.
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Alonso went to college in the United States, and the United States' Olympic qualifications are much more different than Paraguay's. Many, many people were unhappy about that. They were unhappier still when Alonso spoke ill of the Paraguay Olympic Committee and its treatment of their athletes during a now-deleted video she posted across her social media pages. This was Strike One (and the Olympics hadn't even started yet).
Strike Two came during the Olympics when she caught a lot of animosity for posting what many considered to be a thirst trap. She eventually disabled the comments to the video, which were either critical of Alonso herself or... "flattering" in the worst possible way.
Which brings us to Strike Three -- a perfect segue from the last two strikes, as a matter of fact! Per TMZ, Alonso was kicked out of the Olympic Village. The reason? For creating an "inappropriate environment."
An Olympic Swimmer Is Booted From The Olympic Village
Larissa Schaerer, the head of Paraguay's Olympic Committee, issued a statement following Alonso's removal from the Village. "Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay," Schaerer stated. "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 responded to the committee's claims in an Instagram Story. "I just wanted to clarify that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information," she wrote. "I don't want to give any statement, but neither am I going to let lies affect me."
It's likely we'll never know what "creating an inappropriate atmosphere" means. Were teammates distracted by her, uh... "Olympic physique"? Perhaps the noted (and alleged) animosities between Alonso and her teammates, coaches, and those on the committee itself played a part. Oh, and she formally announced her retirement from swimming after her event was over. That seems relevant to the conversation, too!
