Brazilian Swimmer Kicked Out Of Paris Olympics Over Rule-Breaking Romance With Olympian Boyfriend

PARIS OLYMPICS 2024

A Brazilian swimmer was expelled from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday for violating a crucial rule. Ana Carolina Vieira was caught sneaking out of the athletes' village to spend the night with her boyfriend and fellow teammate, Gabriel Santos. The 22-year-old, who participated in the 4x100 meters freestyle relay with Brazil's team on Saturday, July 27, left the village without authorization on Friday night, July 26.

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 home after discovering via her social media posts that she had snuck out with the 28-year-old swimmer.

Gustavo Otsuka, the head of Brazil's swimming team, reported their “inappropriate” behavior to the COB, adding that Vieira also challenged a technical decision made by her country's team lead. Although Santos also broke the rule, he received only a warning after apologizing.

“The athlete Ana Carolina, in a disrespectful and aggressive manner, contested a technical decision made by the Brazilian National Swimming Team committee. Consequently, Gabriel Santos was given a warning and Ana Carolina Vieira was dismissed from the delegation. She will return to Brazil immediately,” the COB stated, per Mirror.

Otsuka issued a separate statement regarding the situation, saying, “We're not here playing or taking a vacation. We're here working for Brazil, for the 200 million taxpayers who support us. We can't play around here. She took a completely inappropriate position to express her discontent 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 discovering the violation through the posts,” Otsuka added, per Reuters.