An Olympic gymnast said Wednesday that the Japanese gymnastics governing body's decision to indefinitely disqualify her coach was too strict a punishment for his violent behavior toward her.
Sae Miyakawa, a 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian and a candidate to compete in the gymnastics world championships in Doha this autumn, admitted that the coach sometimes hit her head during training, but insisted she still wants to train under him while preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Japan Gymnastics Association indefinitely disqualified Yuto Hayami, 34, as a coach registered with the association and banned him from setting foot in the National Training Center after a whistleblower reported Hayami's violent behavior to the association on July 11.