Paraguay's Luana Alonso leaves Olympics and retires amid controversy

Swimmer Luana Alonso bid farewell to the Paris Olympics on the first day, being eliminated in the 100-metre butterfly heats. Her performance left much to be desired.

Luana Alonso placed sixth, trailing over 5 seconds behind the winner, Rosendahl Bach from Denmark. As a result, she was out of further Olympic competitions. Shortly after her race, to the surprise of many, she announced her retirement from sports.

It’s official! I’m retiring from swimming, thank you all so much for your support! Sorry Paraguay. I just have to say thank you! - she wrote on her Instagram.

Despite poor sports results, Alonso did not leave Paris. On the contrary, she enjoyed sightseeing in the city and posting numerous photos and videos on her Instagram page. After sightseeing, she would return to the Olympic Village at night, which did not sit well with her national committee.

Although her sporting achievements at the games were far from expectations, Alonso gained over 100,000 new followers on Instagram. Her number of followers has now exceeded 517,000.

The 20-year-old's behaviour did not go unnoticed by global media. The German "Bild" mockingly called her "the most famous Olympic tourist in Paris." The Paraguayan Olympic Committee also did not hide its dissatisfaction.

She was accused of distracting other athletes from her country, who were resting between events in the village, and her behaviour was deemed "inappropriate".

In response to this directive, Luana Alonso quickly left Paris. By 06:00 GMT on Monday, she had already posted photos on her Instagram Stories from the United States, where she had been studying at a university in Dallas in recent years.