Russia to host first Olympic federation world event since Ukraine invasion

The International Weightlifting Federation becomes the first Olympic federation to choose Russia to host a world championships since its invasion of Ukraine. Weightlifting was first included as an Olympic sport in the 1896 Games in Athens Moscow will host the 2030 World Weightlifting Championships – the first time an Olympic federation has chosen to stage a global event in Russia since the country's invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced its decision on Sunday, four months after confirming Russian athletes would again be eligible to compete in its events. In July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted a suspension on the Russian Olympic Committee. That suspension had been imposed following the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC's subsequent decision potentially opened the way for Russian athletes to compete for their country at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The IWF announced the host cities of four world championships at junior, youth and senior levels, awarding the 2029 senior event to Ahmedabad in India. "All the bids we received were excellent and we are sure that the championships in your respective countries will be a huge success," said IWF general secretary Jose Quinones. No world championships in an Olympic sport, summer or winter, have been held in Russia since the start of the war