The 19-year-old captain of the Japan women's artistic gymnastics team has withdrawn from the squad for the Paris Games after violating the team's code of conduct by smoking. <br /><br />Japanese Gymnastics Association officials said Shoko Miyata arrived in Japan on Thursday after leaving the team's training camp in Monaco for investigation, which confirmed the violation including drinking alcohol. <br /><br />The women's squad will now compete with four athletes instead of five, the JGA told a media conference. <br /><br /><br />'We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this,' JGA President Tadashi Fujita said, bowing deeply along with other officials including Miyata's coach, Mutsumi Harada. <br /><br />Hopes had been high for the Japan women's gymnastics team, seeking to win a team medal at the Paris Games for the first time since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. <br /><br />Miyata had been expected to lead a team comprised entirely of first-time Olympians and teenagers after she secured her Paris berth in May with a third consecutive NHK trophy. <br /><br />Coach Harada said that while Miyata's conduct had been reckless, she had been under extreme pressure to perform at the highest level. <br /><br />'She was spending her days burdened with so much pressure,' he said, wiping away tears. 'I would implore people to understand that.' <br /><br />Mental health-facing young athletes took center stage at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo when gymnastics superstar Simone Biles pulled out of one competition after another. <br /><br />Artistic gymnastics is one of the most popular sports at the Summer Games and will be held from July 27 to Aug. 5
