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".
The 22-year-old Brazilian swimmer was a 4X100m freestyle relay team member and competed with the team on July 27. Vieira finished 12th in the heats and Santos was eliminated in the men’s 4x100 freestyle heats.
However, the night before the race, it was reported that Vieira and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos left the Olympic Village without the required permissions on July 26.
After discovering that the two swimmers snuck out, they were both reprimanded. However, only Viera was asked to leave the Olympic games.
As per the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Viera's behaviour was inappropriate and when disciplined she allegedly abused the staff. 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, stated issued a statement regarding the incident and said that "We are not here playing or taking a vacation. We are here and working from 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.
Who is Ana Vieira?
Ana Carolina Vieira is a swimmer from Brazil. Born in 2001, she represented Brazil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, Vieira finished 12th in the women's 4x100 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 landed into trouble for her "aggressive behaviour". In 2023, she got into a dispute with her countrymate Jhennifer Conceicao at the Trofeu Brasil competition.
In response to the decision taken by the Brazilian committee, Vieira has filed a suit of harassment within the team and stated that she will be taking up 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
"I have had no access to anything. I have not been able to speak to anyone. They told me to contact the COB channels. But how am I going to get in touch?," she stated in the video, which has now been deleted.
