SMU Swimmer Luana Alonso Calls It Quits After Failing To Qualify For The Semifinals At The Olympics

There's some sad news to report from the Summer Games in Paris, France.  SMU swimmer Luana Alonso has called it quits at the age of 20.

It feels like yesterday that the Paraguayan swimmer knocked on our door with her skillfully placed Olympic rings tattoo and walked right into our hearts as what appeared to be a viral sensation in the making.

Paraguay's Luana Alonso competes in a heat of the women's 100m butterfly swimming event during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on July 23, 2023. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP) (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images)

In reality, it's been more than a month.  Before announcing her retirement from the sport, the two-time Olympian hinted that these would be her last Olympic Games.

After finishing sixth in her 100m butterfly heat and failing to advance to the semifinals, Luana made it official.  She's no longer a swimmer.

She said in an interview with Claro Sports, "It didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. I sincerely apologize to Paraguay, but I did what I could, despite several things that happened to me before. So, I’m happy and also to retire here with a full stadium and finally have the Olympic Games."

Luana also broke the news to her more than 318k followers on Instagram, "It’s official!  I’m retiring from swimming, thank you all so much for your support! Sorry Paraguay I just have to say thank you!"

Luana Alonso Plans To Continue Studies And Promote Swimming

What's next for the now former swimmer who, according to the NY Post, was slower in her final competition with a time of 1:03.09 compared to 1:00.37 at the Tokyo Olympics.

She told Claro Sports, "I'm going to go to study in the United States, to continue with my career in Political Science and, why not, to be a minister of the court one day because, as an athlete, I know what all athletes suffer and I want to help them promote sport."

Call me crazy, but I have a strong feeling that some of that promoting of the sport is going to come as a social media influencer.  Luana has a large enough following to pull it off and the ability to grab attention.

We're not talking about the swimmer who won the heat she competed in after all. We're trying to figure out what the viral former college/Olympic swimmer is going to be doing with her free time.

Don't be surprised if Luana Alonso puts her foot down on the content pedal and starts landing brand deals as a swimming influencer.