Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira and her teammate, as well as boyfriend, Gabriel Santos, have faced penalties at the Paris Olympics.
The Olympics are already making headlines as a couple was caught breaking a major rule.
According to reports, Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira has been sent home from the Paris Games, while her teammate and boyfriend, Gabriel Santos, received a warning after they were caught red-handed doing something that’s a big ‘no-no.’
The Brazilian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday, July 28, that Vieira left the athletes’ village with her boyfriend without obtaining permission.
The two swimmers left the village, where most athletes for the Paris Games are staying, without their team’s knowledge. Their infraction was discovered through their social media posts.
The Committee reportedly received a statement from Gustavo Otsuka, the Head of the Brazilian Swimming Team, on Saturday, July 27. The statement explained that the swimmers had committed acts of indiscipline.
This meant that the members of the sport’s Technical Commission, the Team Leader, and the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA) had to decide on an appropriate punishment.
The CBDA and the COB ultimately decided to punish the swimmers for leaving the Olympic Village without authorization.
According to the CBDA, athlete Ana Carolina’s response to the decision was deemed disrespectful and aggressive. As a result, rather than receiving a warning like Santos, she was dismissed outright.
The statement read: “As a result, Gabriel Santos received a warning, while Ana Carolina Vieira was dismissed from the delegation and will return to Brazil immediately.”
Santos had apparently been eliminated in the heats of the men’s 4×100 freestyle and was reprimanded after apologizing.
No further action has been confirmed against the swimmer’s boyfriend, but his girlfriend is facing serious consequences.
Gustavo Otsuka, Brazil’s swimming team leader, explained the decision and the reasons why her behavior was deemed unacceptable to Reuters.
He said: “We’re not here to play around or take a vacation.”
“We’re working on behalf of Brazil and the 200 million taxpayers who support us.”
“We can’t afford to be casual about this. She took an entirely inappropriate stance to express her frustration over the relay formation.”
He went on to explain that her aggressive manner was ultimately her downfall, leading to her being expelled from the Olympics—a stage that athletes dream of competing on.
Otsuka continued: “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 posts.”
The Paris Games began on Friday, July 26, and will continue until August 11, with Vieira absent from contributing to her national team.
After her departure, commenters flocked to her Instagram account to speculate on the decision to remove her, clearly dissatisfied with her tearful apology shared in her Stories.
One person commented, “Why didn’t he leave the Olympics too? He should face a fine for his irresponsibility.”
Another commenter said, “It’s frustrating to see people who don’t care about the Olympics when there are real athletes who dream of competing. I hope they’re not allowed to participate again.”
The most bizarre, discontinued Olympic sports
Painting
In the past, the Olympics awarded medals for art as well, featuring events in painting, sculpture, music, architecture, and even literature.
Making its debut at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm and continuing until the 1948 London Games, juries awarded a total of 151 medals for artistic projects inspired by sport.
Tug of War
Bet you didn’t know this playground classic was once part of the Olympics, did you?
It turns out the sport wasn’t just popular—it also stirred up quite a bit of drama. At the 1908 Olympics in London, Team USA accused Team GB of cheating, claiming their ‘illegal’ heavy footwear gave them an unfair advantage.
A fixture in the Olympics from 1900 to 1920, Tug of War enthusiasts have actively campaigned to see the sport make a return to the Games.
Hot Air Balloon Racing
Debuting at the 1900 Olympics, hot air balloonists competed in races based on distance traveled, altitude reached, precision of landing, and even who could capture the best photo from the balloon.
The sport was eventually discontinued after a ban on motorized events was introduced.
Live Pigeon Shooting
Also making its debut at the 1900 Olympics, the event was quite straightforward—competitors aimed to shoot as many pigeons as possible after they were released into the air. Grim, indeed.
The event only appeared once in the Games, and it’s estimated that around 300 pigeons were killed by Olympic hopefuls.
Pistol Duelling
It’s not hard to see why this event was scrapped, but back in 1906, people didn’t seem to mind competitors waving pistols and shooting at each other.
It started with competitors shooting at dummies, but two years later, organizers decided to mix things up by having them shoot at each other with wax bullets. Ouch.
1908 was the last time the sport appeared in the Olympics, so it’s safe to say they quickly realized it was a bad idea—wax bullets or not.
