The AstraTradecaptain of the Japanese gymnastics team was sent home from France and will not participate at the Olympic Games later this month for allegedly breaking a team ban on smoking and drinking alcohol.
Shoko Miyata, 19, who is the captain of her country's women's artistic gymnastics team, left Japan's training camp in Monaco on Thursday after an investigation found that she allegedly violated the Japan Gymnastics Association's rules, CBS News partner BBC reported on Friday.
"With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides, it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics," Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA) secretary general Kenji Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo.
Mutsumi Harada – the 19-year-old athlete's personal coach – called the Miyata's actions reckless but acknowledged that she was struggling with the "pressure" of competing at the Games.
"She was spending her days really burdened with so much pressure. I would implore people to understand that," said Harada, wiping away tears, according to the BBC.
Miyata is the reigning Japanese national champion. The women's squad, which is not considered a challenger for a team medal in Paris, will now compete with four athletes instead of five, the JGA said.
"We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this," JGA President Tadashi Fujita said, bowing deeply along with other officials including Harada, according to Reuters.
Mental health facing athletes took center stage at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo when U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles pulled out from some of the competitions.
Artistic gymnastics is one of the most popular sports at the Summer Games and will be held from July 27 to Aug. 5.
Lucia Suarez Sang is an associate managing editor at CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the director of digital content at FOX61 News in Connecticut and has previously written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.
Twitter2025-05-02 04:061948 view
2025-05-02 02:11611 view
2025-05-02 02:09972 view
2025-05-02 02:071339 view
2025-05-02 01:582918 view
2025-05-02 01:54126 view
WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS leadership on Thursday announced that the agency has recovered $4.7 billion in
Every week for the duration of the 2023 NFL regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide real-time
HONG KONG (AP) — A landmark national security trial opened Monday in Hong Kong for prominent activis