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Brazilian Swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira Breaks Silence on Olympic Dismissal

​​​​​​​View Date:2024-12-23 16:20:17

Ana Carolina Vieira is speaking out after her time in Paris came to an unexpected end.

The Brazilian swimmer was sent home early from the 2024 Olympics on July 28 after she and boyfriend Gabriel Santos, a fellow Team Brazil swimmer, left the Olympic Village without permission.

"How a communication failure destroyed my Olympic dream," Ana wrote on Instagram, translated from Portuguese, alongside a video explanation August 1. "Discipline, determination and education are my pillars as a high performance athlete."

As the 22-year-old explained in the video, she "received a lot of negative messages, but also a lot of positive messages, mainly from the people that know me."

Ana reassured her fans that she's "as OK as I can be," but was very saddened by the whole experience.

Still, she's looking ahead, adding, "But everything is going to be solved at the right time."

The Olympian also noted that she considers herself a "high performance athlete," and was raised to know the importance of respect and politeness because her parents were both in the military.

But Ana is keeping herself busy, telling fans she's "already back in training and I have a competition that's coming up soon."

"I'm very sad about the way I left the Olympic Games," she continued. "I was going to swim one more competition, but I will continue to cheer on everyone that is still there. The whole crew that is still competing. Cheer for Team Brazil."

During the competition in Paris, Ana had competed in the 4x100m freestyle relay along with teammates Giovana MedeirosMaria Paula Heitmann and Stephanie Balduccini on July 27. The team placed seventh in their heat and 12th overall, with Australia, the United States and China taking the gold, silver and bronze medals for the event.

The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) said in a statement that Ana was sent home due to "acts of indiscipline" as they "left the Olympic Village without authorization during the night of last Friday."

In addition, Ana had a second infraction that occurred while competing. The COB also said in a statement that Ana had committed another act of indiscipline in a "disrespectful and aggressive manner, contested the technical decision made by the Brazilian Swimming Team committee."

Gustavo Otsuka, the head of Brazil's swimming team, also highlighted that Ana's reaction to the lineup played apart in her dismissal.

"We're not here playing or taking a vacation," Gustavo told Reuters. "We're here working for Brazil, for the 200 million taxpayers who are working for us. She took a completely inappropriate position to make her point, her dismay, about the formation of the relay."

For more emotional moments from the Olympics so far, keep reading.

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USA gymnast Simone Biles beams after winning gold in the women's all-around final, sporting her "GOAT" necklace.

French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova cries tears of joy after seeing her silver medal-winning time in women's 1500m freestyle event.

Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal. 

Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt. 

Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line. 

Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match. 

Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1. 

Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal—her country's very first—in the shooting trap women's final. 

Andy Murray and Dan Evans of Great Britain embrace in celebration after besting Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Team Belgium in Men's Doubles second round match. 

Great Britain's Tom Dean celebrates, along with fellow teammates, after his win in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. 

Simone Biles expresses elation after securing the gold medal for Team USA in the women's gymnastics team final, making her the most decorated gymnast in history. 

Team Italy reacts after finishing the women's gymnastics all around team final with a silver medal. 

Coco Gauff listens to a call made against her during a July 30 match against Croatia's Donna Vekic. The controversial line correction ended the tennis champion's run in the 2024 Olympics. 

Jasmine Paolini reacts during her match with Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. She lost the match, exiting the games. 

Serbian sports shooter Zorana Arunovic kisses her gold medal—her first time medaling in the sport after competing in London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. 

Kazuma Kaya and the rest of Team Japan celebrate after earning a gold medal for the artistic gymnastics men's team final. They were followed by Team China with silver, and Team USA with bronze. 

Adam Burgess of Great Britain celebrates after completing his event. His team took home a silver and bronze medal for canoe slalom, a sport that sees competitors navigate a whitewater course. 

Team Malaysia's Tang Jie Chen and Ee Wei Toh celebrate after beating China during the mixed doubles play stage. 

Asher Hong of Team USA celebrates after completing the vault at the men's team final. He placed 9th in his event, and helped earn the Team USA men's gymnastics team a bronze medal. 

French fencer Manon Apithy-Brunet reacts after beating South Korea's Choi Se-bin in the women's semifinal bout. 

Serbia's Novak Djokovic holds up his racket in celebration after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain in a second round match of the Men's Singles tournament. 

Ezinne Kalu and the rest of Team Nigeria celebrate their win against Team Australia. 

Stephen Nedoroscik, an Internet meme for his pommel horse performance, celebrates during his team's final. 

Amandine Buchard takes a page out of Taylor Swift's book with her celebratory heart hands at the medal ceremony for women's judo. She took bronze for France in the 52kg event. 

Hidayat Heydarov of Team Azerbaijan proudly holds up his gold medal after day three of the Olympic games. 

Pauline Ferrand Prevot tears up after scoring a gold medal for France. 

Brazilian judoka Larissa Pimenta is overcome with emotions following the women's 52 kg contest for the bronze medal. She beat out Italy's Odette Giuffrida for the prize.

Team USA's Simone Biles reacts after her exercise on the balance beam at the second of five women's qualfiying sessions, during day two of the Olympics.

France's Aaron Grandidier Nkanang tearfully applauds his team's gold medal victory in the men's rugby sevens final.

Salih Yildiz expresses disappointment after he was defeated by opponent Luka Mkheidze of France. 

Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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