Yasmina Toxanbajevová stripped of Asian Games gold over footwear

Kazakhstani race walker Yasmina Toxanbajevová has been stripped of her gold medal in the women’s marathon walk at the Asian Games in Nagoya after a footwear violation. Although she finished the 42.195-kilometer course in 3:22:20—nearly four minutes ahead of China’s Danzengquzong—technical delegates discovered her shoes were not on the World Athletics approved list.

Following the verdict, the gold medal was reassigned to Danzengquzong, while Ma Li of China moved to silver and Yukiko Umeno of Japan took bronze.

The Kazakhstan Athletics Federation has filed a formal protest, arguing that the athlete’s footwear had been inspected and cleared prior to the start of the competition. The federation stated it will continue to defend the athlete’s interests and confirmed that, regardless of the appeal outcome, the federation will provide the winner's prize money from its own funds. Toxanbajevová expressed her gratitude for public support on social media following the disqualification.