Sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno said Thursday that it will not use swimmer Suzu Chiba in commercials it plans to air before the Olympics since the freestyle swimmer was left off the Japanese national team for the Sydney Games in September.
Mizuno officials said they would consider using Chiba in the company's commercials if her pending appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport wins her a position on the Olympic team.
Chiba appealed to the CAS after the Japan Amateur Swimming Federation left her off the Olympic team in April following the national championships.
Chiba, who won the women's 200-meter freestyle event and took third in the 100 meters despite a cold, charged that the selection process of the JASF lacked transparency.
JASF officials, meanwhile, have said that while Chiba's times met Olympic qualifying standards, they left her off the team since they would have only ranked her 17th in the world last year.