Japanese gymnast Shoko Miyata will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics due to smoking violations.
The 19-year-old captain of Japan's women's artistic gymnastics team was sent back to Japan on Thursday, July 18, just 10 days before the global event. This information was released by the Japanese Gymnastics Association (JGA) on Friday, July 19, according to sources like Kyodo News, BBC News, and The Guardian.
JGA officials also confirmed that Miyata violated team rules by smoking and drinking alcohol, as reported by The Guardian.
“We deeply apologize for this incident,” stated JGA president Tadashi Fujita, as quoted by BBC News and The Guardian.
"After confirming the facts and thorough discussions, it was decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics," Japan Gymnastics Association secretary-general Kenji Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo, as per BBC.
Miyata's coach, Mutsumi Harada, noted that the gymnast, who holds the title of Japan's national champion, had been under intense "pressure" while training in Monaco for the Paris Games.
"She was extremely burdened by the pressure. I hope people can understand that," Harada said on Friday.
The first sign that Miyata might miss the games was her absence from an open training session on Wednesday, July 17.
Miyata has previously secured three medals at the Asian Championships and three at the World University Games, including a bronze medal on the balance beam at the 2022 World Championships.
Recently, in April, she won her first gold medal at Japan's national championships, after earning consecutive silver medals.
Japan last won a medal in the women's gymnastics team all-around competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will be broadcast live from Paris from July 26 to August 11 on NBC.