The Olympic athlete who got sent home after trying to break major rule with boyfriend
Jess Hardiman
Featured Image Credit: instagram/@_anavieeiraa
It’s been a dramatic Olympics Games this year in Paris, with tears, tantrums and... um, terrible weather, frankly.
One person who’s had a bit of a rollercoaster is 22-year-old Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira, who was sent home to Sao Paulo prematurely – later hitting out about how she was treated.
Vieira and her teammate and boyfriend Gabriel Santos were found trying to leave the Olympic Village, which led to the Brazilian Olympic Committee confirming that there would be repercussions.
According to the statements, the two swimmers had left the village, where most athletes for the Paris Games have been staying, without their team's knowledge.
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The Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA) and Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) decided initially to give Vieira a warning.
However, she was allegedly disrespectful and aggressive when she opposed the decision, which led to more drastic action.
Eventually, it was decided that she would be to sent back to Brazil, with a statement from the CBDA saying: "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."
Vieira later spoke out via her Instagram Stories, claiming in a series of three clips that she’d done nothing wrong and that she’d filed a complaint of harassment with the COB, which she said was allegedly ignored.
Saying she left the village without being given a chance to gather her belongings, the athlete said: “I left there and left my materials, I didn’t know what to do.
“My things are there [in the Olympic Village], I went to the airport in shorts. I had to open my suitcase at the airport. I’m in Portugal, I’m going to Recife and then to São Paulo.
“I am helpless, 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?
“I have already filed a complaint of harassment and nothing has been resolved, harassment within the team.”
She added: “I will speak to my lawyers. I promise to tell everything. I am sad, nervous, but with a peace of mind because I know who I am, I know what my character and my nature are.
“I hope to be able to defend Brazilian women’s swimming with great pride. I ask for patience, thank you.”
The COB is now investigating the complaint of harassment.
Tyla has contacted the Brazilian Olympic Committee for comment.