Brazilian swimmer kicked out of Paris Olympics after breaking major rule with Olympian boyfriend
Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home from the Paris Olympics after she snuck out of the athletes' village with her boyfriend and fellow teammate, Gabriel Santos
A Brazilian swimmer was expelled from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday after she broke a golden rule. Ana Carolina Vieira was caught sneaking out of the athletes' village to spend a night with her boyfriend and fellow teammate, Gabriel Santos. The 22-year-old, who competed in the 4x100 meters freestyle relay with Brazil's team on Saturday, July 27, left the village without permission on Friday night, July 26.
Why was Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira sent home from Olympics?
Vieira finished 12th in the heats, while Santos was eliminated in the men’s 4x100 freestyle heats. On Sunday, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) announced its decision to send Vieira packing after discovering via her social media posts that she snuck out with the 28-year-old swimmer.
Gustavo Otsuka, the head of Brazil's swimming team, informed the COB about their “inappropriate” behaviour, adding that Vieira also disputed a technical decision made by her country's team lead. Though Santos also broke the rule, he was let off with a warning after apologising.
“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,” the COB said, per Mirror.
Meanwhile, Otsuka issued a separate statement in light of the situation, saying, “We're not here playing or taking a vacation. 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.”
“It was during this period that we decided to take this situation to the disciplinary committee, discussed it and took the appropriate action. We ended up finding out through the posts,” Otsuka added, per Reuters.
