Olympic gymnast captain pulled from squad for underage smoking and drinking

Japan has sent home its Paris Olympics women's gymnastics captain, Shoko Miyata, from its Monaco base after the 19-year-old was caught drinking and smoking.

Smoking and drinking are both illegal under the age of 20 in Japan, and Miyata is said to have been seen smoking in a private setting in Tokyo towards the end of June to early July. Miyata also reportedly drank alcohol in a room at Japan's national training center.

Japan Gymnastics Association secretary general Kenji Nishimura said it's unclear whether Miyata was at a party or drinking alone. As a result, Miyata, a world bronze medallist and all-round national champion, was sent home from their training camp after admitting to code of conduct violations.

"With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides, it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics," Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo, who added that Miyata "looked exhausted" at the camp.

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Miyata's personal coach revealed that the gymnastics star had been struggling with "pressure" heading into Paris. "She was spending her days really burdened with so much pressure. I would implore people to understand that," Mutsumi Harada said.

Miyata's absence will be a huge blow for the women's squad, who are aiming to claim its first Olympic team medal since 1964 in Tokyo. Paris was set to be Miyata's first, and now the women’s squad will compete with four athletes instead of five.

"We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this,” JGA’s president Tadashi Fujita said. The Olympics is set to officially start next Friday - but soccer games will take place on July 24. The games will be showdowns between Uzbekistan and Spain in Group C, as well as Argentina and Morocco in Group B.

Egypt vs. Dominican Republic, Guinea vs. New Zealand, Japan vs. Paraguay, Iraq vs. Ukraine, Mali vs. Israel, and France vs. USA will also take place across the 24th.

Team USA's clash with France will be one to watch, with Les Bleus among the favorites to win Olympic gold with a stacked roster. The United States has not played in the men's soccer tournament at the Olympic Games since 2008.

US Soccer has already announced its 18-player roster. “We couldn’t be more excited to have this group of great players and great people represent us at the Olympic Games,” said head coach Marko Mitrović. “It’s a special moment for all of us as they have worked their entire lives to reach this stage. Almost every player developed through our American soccer pathway, rising to become professionals and now they will live their dreams of competing at the Olympics."