Japanese Gymnast Sent Home From Olympics For Violating Team Smoking Ban

Shoko Miyata, 19-year-old captain of the Japan women’s artistic gymnastics team, withdrew Thursday from the 2024 Paris Olympics — for violating her own team’s smoking and alcohol ban. The teen athlete was set to compete at her first Olympics a mere week from Saturday.

The Japanese Gymnastics Association explained Friday at a somber news conference that Miyata had breached her team’s code of conduct, according to multiple media outlets. Officials also confirmed the team will now compete with only four athletes instead of five.

The emotional announcement included regret from the head of the association, Tadashi Fujita, who reportedly offered: “We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this.” Miyata’s personal coach, meanwhile, urged critics to understand her.

“She was spending her days really burdened with so much pressure,” Mutsumi Harada said through tears Friday. “I would implore people to understand that.”

The stratospheric pressure on pro athletes competing at high levels was most highlighted at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, when decorated U.S. gymnast Simone Biles withdrew and USA Gymnastics explained that she needed to “focus on her mental health.”

Miyata herself reportedly failed to show at Wednesday’s open training session, which seemed explained at the news conference Friday, when officials said Miyata arrived back home Thursday — after undergoing an investigation at the team’s training camp in Monaco.

“With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides, it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics,” Japan Gymnastics Association secretary general Kenji Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo on Friday, per the BBC.

The code of conduct for Team USA gymnasts, meanwhile, appears to slightly