Japan cuts gymnast from team ahead of Games after discovering she drank and smoked

The biggest name in Japanese gymnastics, athlete Shoko Miyata, 19, is out of the Olympics after being caught smoking and drinking alcohol on the eve of the competition. In addition to being an athlete, she was supposed to be the captain of the delegation. The first event of the sport will take place on July 28.

The confirmation was given by the Japan Gymnastics Association, as reported by The Guardian. “We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this,” said the institution’s president, Tadashi Fujita.

Smoking and drinking before the age of 20 is banned in Japan. Shoko also failed to attend a training session last Wednesday (17). The following day, she was removed from the training camp in Monaco and returned to her country for investigation.

The Japanese gymnastics team will therefore have only four competitors. No one will replace Shoko. The decision upset Mutsumi Harada, the coach, who cried and asked people to understand that Shoko is going through difficult times.

“She was spending her days really overwhelmed with so much pressure. I beg people to understand that.”

Shoko is the country’s biggest star in the sport. She secured her ticket to Paris by winning the NHK Cup for the third time in a row in May. She also won bronze on the balance beam at the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool and was crowned national champion in April.