This article explains the new scoring for gymnastics which is no longer out of a 10.0 point max, and apparently, has not been since 2004. Anyway, the article goes on to mention various deductions - some of which are deemed neutral deductions. This includes time, attire, and podium violations. What is an example of a podium violation? if it is exactly what it says, has anyone been penalized on the podium? I Googled, but I could not find anything on Olympic podium violations specifically.
I think in this context “podium” is the competition area where all the different pieces of apparatus are, not the medal podium. So a podium violation would be something like a coach or teammate remaining in the podium area during another competitor’s event, or something like that.
Yeah, sometimes sports have rules in the fine print that don’t come up very often. The athlete can’t step up to the apparatus until the judges have signaled that they’re ready, that sort of thing.
A “podium violation” cost USA a bronze medal in the team competition in 1988 - and, from what I have read, could have cost Mary Lou Retton her all-around gold medal in 1984.
In 1988, during the team qualifying (and back then, the qualifying scores did carry over to the rest of the competition), the alternate for the USA gymnastics team had to remove the springboard used to mount the uneven bars for a competitor, but did not get off of the podium until after the routine ended. At the time, it was a 0.5 penalty, which was less than the final difference between third and fourth place in the team standings.
Supposedly, the judge that called USA out on this was there in 1984 as well, and noticed that, after Mary Lou Retton’s winning vault in the all-around, Bela Karolyi went onto the vaulting area to hug her - supposedly a full-point penalty, but everybody knew that if the judge would have opened her mouth, she would have been pretty much tarred and feathered by the USA-heavy crowd.
I remember a recent Olympics watching Women’s floor gymnastics when a gymnast ran through her entire routine before the judges were ready for her to start. Talk about being over-eager or nervous! How heartbreaking! As you may guess, she was disqualified. 
There is also “podium training”, which sounds like a class which teaches you how to climb onto the winner’s stand and receive your medal, but is actually a practice session on the apparatus which will be used in the competition.
Not Olympic… but this question reminds me of the story of Surya Bonaly. She committed what would probably be a “Podium Violation” at a World Championship for figure skating. link
Radiolab did a show on the story behind it. link
She is also the only badass to ever do this
What was the violation?
Wrong kind of “podium” - see the second post in this thread.
Also note that Bonaly’s back flip was - and still is - illegal.