The International Weightlifting Federation announced on Sunday that Moscow will stage the 2030 World Weightlifting Championships. It is the first time Russia will host any world championships in an Olympic sport since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Ahmedabad in India was awarded the 2029 edition at the same time.
Russian and Belarusian weightlifters have been eligible for federation events since the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee in July. The IOC Executive Board said athletes should not be held responsible for the actions of their governments. No decision has yet been taken on whether Russian athletes will compete under their national flag, colours and anthem at the Olympic Games.
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the IOC’s decision. The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended in October 2023 after recognising regional Olympic councils in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, following the invasion in February 2022.
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships were originally awarded to Kazan and were later moved to Singapore. Moscow last hosted the World Weightlifting Championships in 1983.
IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones said: “All the bids we received were excellent and we are sure that the Championships in your respective countries will be a huge success.”
Russia’s return to international competition also follows one of the biggest doping scandals in Olympic sport. A 2015 report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency found evidence of systematic doping in Russian athletics, and later investigations uncovered a state-backed cover-up linked to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The IOC said all Russian athletes now returning to international competition would have to meet relevant anti-doping requirements.