When Danzeng Quzong of China crossed the finish line at the Aichi-Nagoya Race Walking Course in the ongoing , little did she realise that she would be standing atop the podium, signing her national anthem. Quzong had finished second by around four minutes to Yasmina Toxanbayeva of Kazakhstan, who completed the women’s marathon race walk in 3 hours, 22 minutes and 20 seconds.
She was initially declared the winner. But Toxanbayeva joy celebrations after completing the race became null and void after a provisional pending a protest. It was found out that Toxanbayeva’s shoe model was not on the list approved by .
The photos of Toxanbayeva’s shoe and other relevant information were submitted to the World Athletics, thus postponing the medal ceremony for the event. Toxanbayeva confirmed the annulment on social media.
“We fought until the end,” she said in an Instagram post. “Thank you to all my super-heroes who fought with me to the very end.”
As per Reuters, one of the technical official said that Toxanbayeva wore a shoe that wasn’t approved by . “Athletes must wear only those shoes approved and listed on a World Athletics platform.
“She was not wearing one, which is why we wrote to World Athletics,” the technical official said on Monday. “Cancelling the gold was their decision, which we conveyed to the athlete. The athlete has a right to appeal to the jury, and she has done that,” the official further added.
As a result, Danzengquzong’s silver turned into gold, while her fellow countrywoman Ma Li earned the silver. Japan’s Yukiko Umeno took home the bronze. Danzengquzong completed the race with a PB of 3:26:09s, while Ma Li completed in 3:32:26s. Umeno took 3:34:59s.
