The Paris Olympics 2024 have been rife with excitement and drama, but few stories have garnered as much attention as that of Luana Alonso, the Paraguayan swimmer who also doubles as a social media influencer. The 20-year-old athlete found herself at the center of controversy after she was reportedly excluded from the Paraguayan team, prompting widespread speculation and media frenzy. However, Alonso has vehemently denied the allegations that she was kicked out of the Games.
Luana Alonso, based in Texas and currently a political science major at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, has a significant following on social media, with over 700,000 followers on her Instagram account. Her journey at the Paris Olympics 2024 took an unexpected turn when she announced her retirement from competitive swimming after failing to advance past the heats in the women’s 100m butterfly event. The emotional announcement from poolside was soon followed by reports of her exclusion from the Paraguayan team.
According to these reports, team officials were displeased with Alonso’s continuous social media activity, which included numerous posts and Instagram stories from Paris. It was alleged that her behavior was creating an “inappropriate atmosphere” within the team, leading to a standoff that lasted several days. Despite the tension, Alonso managed to enjoy her stay in Paris, even visiting Disneyland Paris before eventually returning to Texas.
In response to the swirling rumors, Alonso took to Instagram to clarify her side of the story. “I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information,” she wrote in her Instagram Story. “I don’t want to give any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either.” Her statement was a direct rebuttal to claims made by Paraguayan media, which had published an email allegedly sent to Alonso by Larissa Schaerer, Paraguay’s chef de mission in Paris, requesting her to leave the Olympic village.
The controversy also touched upon deeper issues within the team. Paraguayan newspapers reported that Alonso had expressed her preference to represent the United States rather than Paraguay, which did not sit well with team officials. Furthermore, tensions were exacerbated by the fact that Alonso qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 under the International Olympic Committee’s “universality” rules, intended to ensure broader participation from countries with fewer athletes meeting standard qualifying times. Despite the universal entry, Alonso insisted she could have qualified on her own merit.
The entire episode has seemingly bolstered Alonso’s social media career. Her follower count on Instagram surged by approximately 250,000 in a single week, indicating that the controversy may have had an unintended positive effect on her influence as a social media personality. As the Paris Olympics 2024 continue, the story of Luana Alonso serves as a reminder of the intersection between sports, media, and the personal lives of athletes in the digital age.
