Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira has been banished from the Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old swimmer was put on the first flight back to Brazil after she snuck out of the Olympic Village with her boyfriend and fellow teammate Gabriel Santos to “sample the Parisian nightlife.”
Vieira, who was a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team, competed with the team on July 27. She finished 12th in the heats, and Santos was eliminated in the men’s 4×100 freestyle heats.
However, the night before the race, it was reported that Vieira and Santos left the Olympic Village without the required permissions on July 26.
After discovering that the two swimmers had sneaked out, they were both reprimanded. However, only Vieira was asked to leave the Olympic Games.
According to the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Vieira’s behaviour was deemed inappropriate, and she allegedly abused the staff when disciplined. Santos, on the other hand, was let off with a warning.
Based on a report by the ‘Mirror’, the COB said: “The athlete Ana Carolina, in a disrespectful and aggressive manner, contested a technical decision made by the Brazilian National Swimming Team committee. As a result, Gabriel Santos was given a warning and Ana Carolina Vieira was dismissed from the delegation. She will return to Brazil immediately.”
Gustavo Otsuka, the head of Brazil’s swimming team, issued a statement regarding the incident and said: “We are not here playing or taking a vacation. We are here and working for Brazil.”
“We’re here working for Brazil, for the 200 million taxpayers who are working for us. We can’t play around here. She took a completely inappropriate position to make her point, her dismay, about the formation of the relay,” stated Otsuka.
Ana Carolina Vieira, born in 2001, represented Brazil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, Vieira finished 12th in the women’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay race. While she was sent home for the remainder of the Paris Olympics 2024, this is not the first time the Brazilian swimmer has faced trouble for her “aggressive behaviour.”
In 2023, she was involved in a dispute with her countrymate Jhennifer Conceição at the Trofeu Brasil competition.
In response to the decision taken by the Brazilian committee, Vieira has filed a suit for harassment within the team and stated that she will be addressing the matter of her dismissal legally.
Taking to Instagram, the 22-year-old swimmer stated that she was sent to the airport without any of her belongings.
