VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The head of Japan’s Olympic delegation hit out at the country’s skeleton officials Friday over a careless mistake that resulted in Nozomi Komuro’s disqualification from the women’s skeleton at the Vancouver Games.

“It’s regrettable that she came all the way to Vancouver and could not even stand at the start line,” Seiko Hashimoto said a day after Komuro was disqualified because her sled lacked the proper sticker mandated by the sport’s international governing body.

“I want all skeleton team officials to get their act together. The entire Japanese delegation would be in the worst situation if we were still without a medal here.”

In another sledding competition earlier this week, Japan’s Aya Yasuda was disqualified after the first round of the women’s luge singles because the extra weight her sled was carrying exceeded the legal limit.

“I was aware of the luge disqualification, so I carefully checked if Komuro’s suit and boots were ready to go for the competition. But I didn’t recognize that her sled was missing the sticker,” said skeleton head coach Hiroomi Takahashi.

“I have to apologize to everyone in Japan.”