Greek athlete Voula Papachristo ousted from Olympic Games for Twitter comment

(USA TODAY) -- The Twitter Olympics has begun, and Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristo is the first casualty.

She has been expelled from the London Olympics by Greece for her Twitter comments on African immigrants and expressing support for a far-right party.

Papachristou is competing in her first Games. The 23-year-old is from Athens.

The IOC has strict guidelines on what athletes can say in social media. This is the first case of an athlete being expelled from an Olympics for social media use.

The Tweet that got Papachristou in trouble was posted July 22: "So many Africans in #Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food"

Fifty-four people marked it as a "favorite" on Twitter.

She apologized on Twitter and Facebook, saying that her comment was a joke.

I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.

My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee said in a statement Wednesday that Papachristou is "placed outside the Olympic team for statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement."

Papachristou is in Athens. The committee says she was to travel to London shortly before the track events start. She was 11th at the European Championships in 2011.