Emmanuel Idinna’s 18th birthday was supposed to end with a silver medal draped around his neck, but instead, the French triple jumper left the European U20 Championships on Sunday disqualified, his medal gone, after officials ruled he had worn non-compliant insoles during competition.
Idinna had seemed assured of second place after a 15.85-metre leap on his penultimate attempt, but the result came under scrutiny when Bulgaria’s Zinga Firmino, who had finished fourth, lodged a protest. Firmino claimed Idinna’s footwear breached World Athletics equipment regulations, a charge officials later confirmed.
While Idinna’s Adidas Adizero TJ shoes are on the list of models approved by World Athletics, he had replaced the standard orange insoles with a different set. That change, even though it may seem minor, rendered the shoes non-compliant under the governing body’s strict rules.
According to World Athletics’ Technical Rule 5, any modification to competition shoes, including swapping insoles, is prohibited if it offers a potential performance advantage or involves a prototype or custom piece not available to all athletes. The policy is intended to ensure fairness, particularly as shoe technology advances.
The ruling reshuffled the podium: Turkey’s Emre Colak moved up from bronze to silver, and Firmino claimed bronze with his 15.71 m jump. Idinna, who has a personal best of 15.92 m and was the 2024 European U18 champion, will now have to wait for another chance at a continental medal.
Emotional rollercoaster at the European U20 Championships 🤯
— Track side with Mel (@TracksidewidMel) August 13, 2025
🥈 French triple jumper Emmanuel Idinna 🇫🇷 initially produced the 2nd best jump of the final (15.85m), but was later disqualified after it was found he had worn shoes not approved by World Athletics
📸: Thomas Termote pic.twitter.com/reDJy253gF
In recent years, World Athletics has tightened oversight of competition footwear, requiring all approved shoes to be commercially available and banning certain sole thicknesses, embedded technologies, and prototypes unless sanctioned for general use.
While these rules have been most visible in road racing’s “super shoe” debate, they apply equally to field events, and as Idinna’s case shows, they can determine the fate of a championship.
For Idinna, the disqualification was a bitter twist on what should have been a career-highlight birthday. For his rivals, it was a reminder that in elite athletics, success can hinge not just on performance, but on the letter of the rulebook.
