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Gymnast Shoko Miyata’s Olympic Dreams Go Up in Smoke — for Smoking

Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 12:30 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Winning gold medals often takes blood, sweat, tears. But occasionally all it takes is turning a blind eye

A Puff of Controversy

Well, folks, the Olympic torch isn’t the only thing smoking in Paris this year. Japan’s 19-year-old gymnastics captain, Shoko Miyata, has been sent packing for lighting up and knocking back a few drinks.

The Japanese Gymnastics Association (JGA) announced this shocking decision on Friday. Talk about sticking the dismount … right out of the Games.

Double standards and doping dilemmas

Imagine the outrage if Team USA sent Simone Biles home for sipping a glass of champagne in the City of Light. But a better analogy might be the fate Sha’Carri Richardson suffered in 2020.

Team USA disqualified her when she tested positive for marijuana. She pleaded that she was smoking it to cope with her mother’s recent death. That didn’t matter.

Four years later, Richardson is the reigning World Champion and a favorite to win gold in the women’s 100m. She turned her 2020 disqualification for smoking pot into a rallying cry, handling it with grace and defiance. Miyata could learn a thing or two from her.

image of disqualified Japanese gymnast Miyata with images of Russian and Chinese doping scandals and triumphant Sha'Carri Richardson

Meanwhile, Russian and Chinese athletes keep competing despite state-sponsored doping scandals that would make Lance Armstrong blush. It’s apparently OK to juice up on performance-enhancing drugs, but heaven forbid you unwind with a cigarette.

Team Russia has been competing under a neutral flag at recent Games. But, oddly, it decided that the national shame of its gymnastics squad continuing to do so is too great. So, no gymnasts from Russia will compete in Paris.

However, China is replacing the US as the indispensable nation. Therefore, the IOC wouldn’t dare require its doped-up athletes to compete under a neutral flag, let alone ban them from competing.

The moral of the story

So what have we learned from this Olympic saga? Let’s break it down:

  1. If you’re an Olympian, even legal vices like smoking and drinking are off-limits. But if you’re not gunning for gold, puff away!
  2. Doping is a big no-no… unless your entire country backs you up. Then it’s just a “training technique.”
  3. Some athletes, like Sha’Carri Richardson, have turned disqualifications into platforms for broader discussions. But the bottom line is that breaking rules usually leads to broken dreams.

This saga highlights the stark differences in values between democracies like the US and Japan and autocracies like Russia and China. Long may our values prevail.