Top Japanese Gymnast Withdraws From Paris 2024 for Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Shoko Miyata, the team’s captain, withdrew from the Games after an investigation by the country’s gymnastics board found she had violated its code of conduct.

Japan’s Olympic gymnastics team will head into the Paris Games this week without its captain, Shoko Miyata, after she withdrew from the team following an investigation that found she had violated the squad’s code of conduct by smoking and drinking alcohol.

In a news conference last week, officials with the Japan Gymnastics Association, which conducted the investigation, announced Miyata’s withdrawal from the Olympics, saying that “both parties discussed the matter” and that Miyata had decided not to compete.

The Japan Gymnastics Association’s code of conduct forbids drinking or smoking while in official team programs, regardless of age. The legal age for drinking and smoking in Japan is 20; Miyata is 19. » | Ali Watkins | Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Related article here.

Japanese Gymnast Set to Miss Olympics for Smoking

Shoko Miyata won a first national championship in April | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: Japanese gymnast Shoko Miyata has been sent home and will not compete at the Olympic Games after breaking a team smoking ban.

The 19-year-old left Japan's training camp in Monaco on Thursday as officials investigated the alleged incident.

The teenager - captain of her country's women's artistic gymnastics team - returned to Japan that night after the investigation concluded she had violated the Japan Gymnastics Association's rules.

Smoking is in violation of the association's code of conduct.

"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. » | BBC | Thursday, July 18, 2024

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