Japan's Top Olympic Gymnast Ousted for Smoking

With the Paris Olympics only a week away, Japan is suddenly without a team captain in women's artistic gymnastics. Shoko Miyata has been sent home from France by the Japan Gymnastics Association because—prepare to gasp—the 19-year-old admitting to smoking and drinking, reports the Japan Times. The offenses violate the JGA's code of conduct, per the Guardian. Miyata, her nation's reigning champion, admitted to the association that she imbibed in June and July, including at the National Training Center in Tokyo.

"I offer my sincere apologies for causing a great amount of trouble to many people over Miyata," said JGA Chairman Tadashi Fujita. "I'm very sorry." Miyata herself has not commented, but her personal coach suggested critics cut her some slack. "She was spending her days really burdened with so much pressure," said Mutsumi Harada, per the BBC. "I would implore people to understand that." Japan wasn't expected to medal as a team, but Miyata herself was seen as a contender in the balance beam. (More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)