Japan's Gymnastics Captain Crossed Out Appearing At The 2024 Olympics For Smoking

Japanese gymnastics athlete Shoko Miyata (Instagram/@sHOPo_miyata).

JAKARTA The captain of the Japanese women's artistic gymnastics team, Shoko Miyata, will be crossed out to appear at the 2024 Paris Olympics for violating the code of ethics due to smoking.

According to a Kyodo News report, Japan's Gymnastics Association (JGA) is currently investigating the matter. If proven then the 19-year-old athlete will be sent home from the team's training camp at Monaco.

Smoking is an illegal act for anyone under 20 in Japan. Several sources have indicated Miyata will be sent home from the team's training camp.

In the same report, Miyata is said to have not been seen in the team's training on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, which is open to the media.

Japan's Head of Gymnastics Association Development, Hikaru Tanaka, confirmed that the athlete was absent from the session "for some reason".

The Japanese gymnastics team headed for Paris this year with high hopes of winning a gold medal in the team number. The last time they won in the sector was when they hosted the 1964 Olympics.

Miyata is also expected to lead a team full of debutants at the Olympics after she made sure to qualify for Paris in May 2024 thanks to winning the third consecutive NHK trophy.

Japan is actually not seeded for a team gold medal in Paris. However, Miyata won bronze in the beam number at the 2022 World Championships and was fifth in the all-around competition.

Artic compounds are one of the most popular sports in the Summer Olympics. This sport will compete from 27 July to 5 August 2024.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will officially open on July 26, 2024. A total of 10 thousand athletes are contestants.