Moscow will host the 2030 World Weightlifting Championships after an International Weightlifting Federation decision. It is the first Olympic federation to award Russia a global championship since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decision comes while Russian athletes’ return to the Olympics under their national flag has not yet been decided, and Ukraine challenges the lifting of Russia’s Olympic committee suspension.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the sport’s global governing body, awarded the 2030 World Weightlifting Championships to Moscow on 25 October. The Russian capital last hosted the competition in 1983. The same announcement gave the 2029 senior championships to Ahmedabad in India. The IWF became the first Olympic federation to award Russia a global championship since the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[1], [2]
The award came four months after the IWF restored Russian athletes’ eligibility for its events. Its executive board allocated four future championship hosts across youth, junior and senior competitions. Russia’s weightlifting federation said the Moscow event would serve as a qualifying competition for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. The federation’s president, Aleksandr Vinokurov, thanked the IWF for its decision and pointed to Moscow’s experience and sporting infrastructure.[1]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted the Russian Olympic Committee’s suspension in July, but had not decided whether Russian athletes could return under their flag, colours and anthem. The IOC said it would continue not to organise its own events in Russia or invite Russian government officials. Ukraine appealed against the lifting of the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Five Ukrainian lifters were entered for the world championships in Ningbo, China, scheduled for 27 October–8 November.[1]
