Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010

Imagine preparing your whole life for a shot at Olympic glory… only to be disqualified because of a technicality half an hour before your event begins. That’s the situation 24-year-old Japanese skeleton racer Nozomi Komuro found herself in on February 19, when it was discovered that her sled lacked an official sticker mandated by the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT), the sport’s governing body. Nozomi and her coach, Hiromi Takahashi, apparently removed the sticker when they were stripping the sled of sponsor logos; FIBT officials noticed the mistake during a pre-race check at the Whistler Sliding Center 35 minutes before Nozomi’s run was scheduled to begin. The understandably distraught athlete left the Games in tears, while Takahashi did the expected nihonjin thing by declaring: “I have to apologize to everyone in Japan.”

Sources: Kyodo; Deutsche Presse Agentur; AP