Gold Medal Stripped Overnight in Shock... What Happened to the Star Who Defeated China?

Stripped of Gold Medal for Shoe Rule Violation

China’s Dan Zhengquzhong and Mari Lima Awarded Gold and Silver

At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, a Kazakhstani athlete who won the gold medal in the athletics competition was suddenly disqualified for a rules violation the day after the event and stripped of her medal.

Yasmina Toksanbayeva. Instagram capture

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the disqualification on the 28th, stating, “Following a protest filed after the event against Yasmina Toxanbayeva (Kazakhstan), the final result of the race walking marathon has been confirmed.”

In the women’s marathon race walk held on the 27th, Toxanbayeva was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 20 seconds. She pulled off an upset by beating out the two Chinese athletes who were strong favorites to win the event.

However, overnight, Toxanbayeva’s gold medal was revoked. The issue was the shoes she wore during the competition. She had worn a model that was not included on the list of shoes approved by World Athletics. After a review process, it was finally confirmed on the 28th that the thickness of Toxanbayeva’s shoe soles did not comply with regulations, resulting in her being stripped of the gold medal.

As a result, Dan Zhengquzhong of China, who had originally won a medal, was awarded the gold medal. Mari Lima of China received the silver medal, and Yukiko Umeno of Japan was advanced to the bronze medal position.

Yasmina Toksanbayeva. Reuters Yonhap News Agency

Toxanbayeva, who was stripped of her gold medal, expressed her thoughts on her social networking service (SNS), saying, “Thank you to everyone,” and “Everything will be resolved in the best possible way according to God’s will.” She continued, “I want to say just how much your support has been a great comfort and source of strength for me at this time. Thanks to you, I am able to endure and not collapse even in such difficult moments.”

Currently, Toxanbayeva’s side has begun the process of appealing the decision. Therefore, whether the decision to strip her of the medal will ultimately stand may depend on the outcome of the appeal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.