Tokyo (AFP)
The 200m and 400m medley world champion Daiya Seto, the great Japanese hope for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics next year, was deprived of competition and official training until the end of the year, after revelations about an extra-marital relationship.
The 26-year-old, married and father of a family, accepted his sanction imposed by the Japanese Swimming Federation, apologizing for his "irresponsible behavior" in a statement released Tuesday.
Like local celebrities in the entertainment industry (music, cinema, television), Japanese athletes are asked to behave in an exemplary manner, and any deviation is severely sanctioned.
A local tabloid had published in September a video of Daiya Seto going with his mistress in a "love hotel".
Daiya Seto will however be able to continue to train in private for the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed to the summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He is the reigning world champion in the individual 200m and 400m medley, and won bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the 400m medley.
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