Japanese Olympic Team Kicks Out Top Athlete For Smoking And Drinking
Japan’s Olympic gymnastics team is now down one member.
On July 19, it was reported that Shoko Miyata, described as the country’s top gymnast, was removed from the team heading to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. According to the Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA), Miyata was sent home from an Olympic prep camp in Monaco surrounding allegations of smoking.
Upon her return to Japan, Miyata admitted to smoking cigarettes during her private time and drinking alcohol at the National Training Center in Tokyo in late June and July. Miyata, who is 19, is under Japan’s age of legality, which is 20.
Even if she was of age, the JGA’s code of conduct bans national team members from smoking and drinking during team activities. It is said that the JGA and Miyata decided that she should leave the team, with the organization apologizing for the change.
Miyata won the All-Japan Championships and the NHK Trophy in the past year and was considered the team’s ace. The JGA has also announced that no substitute will be added, leaving the women’s gymnastics team as four and harming their chances of earning a medal.
Mai Murakami was the first and only Japanese female gymnast to earn an individual Olympic medal during the 2020 games in Tokyo.
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