A swimmer who was removed from the Olympic Village for creating an "inappropriate environment" has given her side of the story.
Luana Alonso, 20, who represented Paraguay in the Olympic Games, had been staying in the Olympic Village with her fellow athletes but was allegedly asked to leave before the event concluded.
According to the Daily Mail, Team Paraguay requested Alonso to depart and did not permit her to stay until the games finish on Sunday, August 11.
Alonso abruptly announced her retirement on Instagram after finishing sixth in her heat with a time of 1:03.09, failing to qualify for the semi-finals and swimming more than three seconds slower than her personal best.
The 20-year-old shared some photos from the event on social media, writing: "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 in my heart, unique opportunities. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon."
Team Paraguay later claimed that due to "inappropriate behavior," Alonso was asked to leave the village before the games ended.
Larissa Schaerer, head of the COP mission, stated: "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."
While there has been no official explanation regarding the "inappropriate" behavior, Alonso has now broken her silence.
Taking to social media, she posted: "I just wanted to clarify 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."
Alonso also revealed her plans for the future, stating: "I’m going to go to study in the United States, to continue with my career in Political Science.
"And, why not, to be a minister of the court one day because, as an athlete, I know what all athletes suffer and I want to help them promote sport."
Alonso clarified that her decision to retire was not due to her performance at Paris 2024, stating that she had made the choice "a long time ago."
She told Claro Sports: "People, my decision was made a long time ago! It wasn't because of the games! So nothing, I just have to thank everyone who always supported me.
"It didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. I sincerely apologize to Paraguay, but I did what I could, despite several things that happened to me before. So, I’m happy and also to retire here with a full stadium and finally have the Olympic Games."