The International Weightlifting Federation awarded its 2030 World Championships to Moscow, the first global Olympic-sport event handed to Russia since February 2022.
The big picture: The IWF announced the decision on Sunday, four months after confirming Russian athletes would again be eligible for its events. No world championships in an Olympic sport, summer or winter, have been held in Russia since the start of the war.
- Moscow last staged the World Weightlifting Championships in 1983. The 2025 World Aquatics Championships, originally awarded to Kazan, were moved to Singapore instead.
The backstory: In July the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, potentially opening the way for Russian athletes to compete for their country at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Ukraine has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to annul that decision.
- The IOC said no decision has been taken on whether Russia may display its flag, colours and anthem, and that it will continue to keep IOC events out of Russia and Russian state officials out of its events.
What they're saying: The Russian Weightlifting Federation called itself "the first Olympic sports federation to succeed in bringing a top-level official competition back to the country in many years." President Aleksandr Vinokurov thanked the IWF "for their trust" on Telegram.
Zoom in: The IWF awarded four championships at once, with the 2029 senior event going to Ahmedabad, India. "All the bids we received were excellent," general secretary Jose Quinones said.
Why it matters: Vinokurov said the championships also serve as a qualifying event for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which raises the stakes of the venue for every federation. Five Ukrainian athletes are listed for this year's worlds in Ningbo, China, running October 27 to November 8.
