Moscow will host the 2030 World Weightlifting Championships, making the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) the first Olympic federation to choose Russia for a world event since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decision, announced on Sunday, marks a major turning point in Russia’s return to global sport.
Weightlifting (Credits: BBC Sport)
Moscow To Host 2030 World Weightlifting Championships
The IWF announced the host cities for four world championships across junior, youth and senior levels, with the 2029 senior event going to Ahmedabad in India and the 2030 edition to Moscow. IWF general secretary Jose Quinones said all the bids received were excellent and expressed confidence the championships would be a huge success.
The decision comes four months after the IWF confirmed Russian athletes would again be eligible to compete in its events. It also follows the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) provisional lifting of its suspension on the Russian Olympic Committee in July — a suspension imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
What The Decision Means For Russia’s Return To Global Sport
No world championships in an Olympic sport, summer or winter, have been held in Russia since the war began. The 2025 World Aquatics Championships, initially awarded to the Russian city of Kazan, were instead moved to Singapore. Moscow has not held the World Weightlifting Championships since 1983.
The Russian Weightlifting Federation called itself the first Olympic sports federation to bring a top-level official competition back to the country in many years. Federation president Aleksandr Vinokurov thanked the IWF for its trust, noting the championships will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
The IOC’s July decision potentially opened the way for Russian athletes to compete for their country at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, though no decision has been taken on whether Russia could display its flag, colours and anthem. Some Russian athletes competed at the Paris 2024 Games and this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan as neutrals, while Ukraine has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking to annul the IOC’s lifting of the suspension.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
