The Real Reason A Swimmer Was Just Banned From The 2024 Olympics

Careful what you post. It could just get you banned from the Olympics.

Transcript

00:00A romantic night out in the City of Lights? Who could resist? Brazilian Olympic swimmer

00:04Ana Carolina Vieira and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos couldn't, and it ended up getting Vieira

00:09sent back to South America. Vieira and Santos, social media stars in their home country,

00:13were caught leaving the Olympic Village in Paris without their team's permission on July

00:1726th, thanks to their own online posts.

00:19The big night out in central Paris took place on Friday, the night before their respective

00:23events, with both taking part in 4x100 meter relay races the next day. Vieira and her team

00:28finished 12th in the heats on Saturday, while Santos and his squad placed 10th. In a statement,

00:32the Brazilian Olympic Committee said it had been informed by the head of the country's

00:35swimming team that the pair had, quote, "...committed acts of indiscipline by sneaking out."

00:40But that's not why Vieira was sent home. Reuters reports that the real reason the 22-year-old

00:44had to go was her behavior during the meeting when team officials were doling out their

00:47punishment for the pair leaving the village and seeing the sights. While Santos was only

00:51given a warning for the unauthorized outing, Vieira was dismissed and sent home because

00:55she also challenged the Brazilian swimming team's relay lineup, and she apparently didn't

00:59hold back.

01:00The BOC said in a statement,

01:01"...Vieira committed two distinct acts of indiscipline. One was leaving the Olympic

01:04Village without the consent of the technical committee, and another was aggressively and

01:08disrespectfully challenging the technical committee's lineup."

01:11Gustavo Otsuka, Brazil's swimming team leader, told Reuters that Vieira crossed a line, saying,

01:16"...Vieira took a completely inappropriate position to make her point, her dismay, about

01:20the formation of the relay."

01:21In a separate statement, the BOC said that Vieira will return to Brazil immediately.

01:25Vieira, however, has disputed this version of events. She has claimed instead that she

01:29did nothing wrong and has complained about being expelled from the Olympic Village without

01:32many of her belongings. She said in an Instagram story,

01:35"...My things are there in the Olympic Village. I went to the airport in shorts. I had to

01:39open my suitcase at the airport. I am helpless. I have had no access to anything. I have not

01:43been able to speak to anyone."

01:45Vieira added that she plans to speak to her lawyers about the matter, saying,

01:49"...I am sad, nervous, but with a peace of mind, because I know who I am. I know what

01:52my character and my nature are."

01:54Team leader Otsuka told Reuters that the whole situation reflects poorly on their home country,

01:58adding,

01:59"...We're not here playing or taking a vacation. We're here working for Brazil, for the 200

02:03million taxpayers who are working for us. We can't play around here."

02:06While the Olympic Village is set to accommodate the needs of its athletes,

02:09"...There is a beauty parlor, a hair salon, there's a post office, there's a grocery store."

02:15It was clearly no match for Paris proper, which proved too tempting for the young couple

02:19likely soured now on their full Olympic experience.