A Brazilian swimmer has been banned from participating in the 2024 games after she left the Olympic Village without permission.
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According to a statement by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), 4×100-meter freestyle relay swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira and her teammate, men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay swimmer Gabriel Santos, were reprimanded after they left the Olympic Village “without permission” on Friday, July 26. According to The Guardian, Santos is Vieira’s boyfriend. The two allegedly posted about their unauthorized departure from the Olympic Village on social media.
“COB received a statement this Saturday, the 27th, from the Head of the Brazilian Swimming Team, Gustavo Otsuka, informing that swimmers Ana Carolina Vieira and Gabriel Santos committed acts of indiscipline,” the COB shared on Sunday, July 29.
The organization continued, “With this, in agreement with the members of the Technical Committee of the sport, with the Head of the Team, and with the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA), the COB decided to punish the two athletes for having left the Olympic Village without authorization during the night of last Friday,”
The COB further stated that Vieira “contested” a “technical decision made by the Brazilian Swimming Team committee” in a “disrespectful and aggressive manner.”
“Therefore, athlete Gabriel Santos was punished with a warning,” the COB then declared. “And athlete Ana Carolina Vieira, with the penalty of dismissal from the delegation. She will return to Brazil immediately.”
The female Brazilian swimmer competed in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team during the Olympic Games on Saturday. The team finished 12th in the heats.
Brazilian Swim Coach Says the Team Isn’t At the Olympic Games For a ‘Vacation’ Following Swimmer Controversy
Following the swimmer controversy. Brazilian swim coach Gustavo Otsuka was very clear about the team’s Olympic Games purpose.
“We’re not here playing or taking a vacation,” Otsuka told Reuters. “We’re here working for Brazil, for the 200 million taxpayers who are working for us.”
Otsuka then spoke about Vieira and her actions. “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 post.”
Per The Guardian, Vieira stated in an Instagram Story that she “couldn’t contact anyone” after being told she was out “for bad behavior,” as she denied the claims. “I didn’t know what to do, my things are there,” she allegedly stated. “I know who I am, I know my character, my nature, and that’s what matters.”