Kazakhstan's team officially ended another day of competition at the 2026 Asian Games with one gold medal instead of two — the result of Kazakh race walker Yassmina Toksanbayeva in the marathon distance was protested, the website infohub.kz reports.
Toksanbayeva finished first, but no final result ever appeared in the official Asian Games system. Instead, the event page reads "Protested."
The outlet Sport Shredingera circulated a statement from the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan explaining the situation.
"A protest was filed against the Kazakh athlete regarding the sneakers she used. The international athletics federation World Athletics is currently reviewing this protest and checking whether this model of sneakers is on the list of approved footwear. All official information will be announced as it becomes available," the NOC said.
Toksanbayeva herself thanked "everyone who supports me and is by my side" in an Instagram story.
"Raqmet, Kazakhstan! I really need your support right now. Today we set a new Asian record, today we rewrote history! Even if they take this away from me, I will come back and do it again!" the athlete wrote.
In the overall standings at the 2026 Asian Games, Kazakhstan's team had nine gold medals as of Sunday. Only the victory of Kirill Prokhodov, Vadim Sharlaimov, Ruslan Kurbanov and Yerlik Sertay in the team epee tournament was counted.
Silver medals for Kazakhstan were won by Norah Jeruto (3,000-meter steeplechase) and weightlifter Ayanat Zhumagali (up to 77 kg). Bronze went to trampolinist Yerlan Tasmagambetov, as well as synchronized swimmers Nargiza Bolatova and Yasmine Tuyakova.
In the overall standings, Kazakhstan's team remained in fifth place, one gold behind Uzbekistan. The Kazakh team is ahead of Thailand thanks to a larger number of silver medals.