‘Comeback’ Stripped of Glory: 21-Year-Old Star Officially Recognized by President Herself, “It Was Mentally Overwhelming…”

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A dramatic turn of events. Yasmina Toksanbayeva (21), a Kazakh racewalking star who crossed the finish line in first place at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games but had her gold medal stripped overnight, has received official champion recognition from her homeland, along with the keys to a new apartment and a national order.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on the 14th (Korean time), “Just over a month after being stripped of her Asian Games gold medal for wearing non-compliant shoes, Kazakh racewalker Yasmina Toksanbayeva received rewards befitting a champion in her home country.”

According to local reports, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently attended an award ceremony honoring athletes from the 20th Asian Games and the 5th Asian Para Games held in the capital, Astana, where he personally presented Toksanbayeva with the Order for Labor Merit. The Kazakhstan Athletics Federation and sponsors also handed over the keys to a new apartment at the event, citing support for her preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The outlet noted, “Although Toksanbayeva was listed as a mere participant rather than a medalist on the official tournament roster, she was prominently included in the list of recipients of national orders.” It added, “According to local media, the Kazakhstan Athletics Federation continues to regard Toksanbayeva as the true Asian Games champion, regardless of the disqualification ruling.”

The scale of the compensation is identical to that of an actual gold medalist. In addition to a government bonus of 10,000 dollars (approximately 14 million won) to be paid in five to six months, the Kazakhstan Athletics Federation promised to pay Toksanbayeva the full prize money for winning, regardless of the outcome of any appeal against the disqualification decision.

Moved by her homeland’s warm comfort and extraordinary recognition, Toksanbayeva could not hide her overwhelming emotions. Immediately after the ceremony, she shared on her personal social media (SNS), “The past month has been mentally incredibly difficult. I tried my best to endure it, but this meeting kept me from falling into a pit of despair.”

She continued, “My homeland and the Kazakhstan Athletics Federation have recognized me, and I am so happy that I cannot fully express what I feel in words. This will be the driving force that allows me to keep moving forward and growing.” She added a note of gratitude: “In the final few kilometers of a marathon, each step requires immense patience. In those moments, knowing that my homeland and its people are cheering for me from behind gives me great strength.”

Previously, Toksanbayeva crossed the finish line first in the women’s 42.195 km race walk at the Asian Games held on September 27, with a time of 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 20 seconds, finishing about four minutes ahead of the second-place athlete.

However, during the inspection process conducted after the race ended, she was abruptly disqualified the following day because the shoes she wore were not on the World Athletics approved model list, resulting in her gold medal being stripped overnight. As a result, an unprecedented reshuffling of rankings occurred: the second-place athlete inherited the gold medal, and the fourth-place athlete took the bronze.

Furthermore, it was revealed that the cause of the disqualification was not the athlete’s fault, but rather the negligence of her coaches, who failed to check shoe regulations in advance due to lax administrative oversight, sparking public outrage. Toksanbayeva, whose glory was stolen overnight, had recently expressed deep trauma on SNS, stating, “I still cannot look comfortably at my teammates who won medals.”

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original