Weightlifting federation awards 2030 world championships to Moscow

Moscow named host for 2030

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced on Sunday, 25 October 2026, in a communiqué, that its world championships for 2030 will be held in Moscow. The 2029 edition goes to Ahmedabad in India, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. Secretary general Jose Quinones, cited on the federation's website, said the sport is growing worldwide and that many countries are interested in hosting its events. The decision makes the IWF the first Olympic discipline to schedule a world championship in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. No world championship in any Olympic summer or winter sport has been held in Russia since that year. Russia had been due to host the 2025 swimming world championships in Kazan, but that event was reassigned to Singapore.

Russian athletes return to international sport

The Russian weightlifting federation welcomed the decision in a social media post, calling itself the first Olympic federation to bring a high-level official competition back to the country in years. The IWF board decided in June 2026 to fully readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes to its competitions. Other bodies moved first, with the world judo federation doing so in November 2025, the world swimming federation in April 2026, and the International Paralympic Committee for the Milan Cortina Winter Games. In July, the International Olympic Committee lifted part of its restrictions on Russian athletes, who may now target the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, including in team sports. Russian athletes have not yet recovered their national anthem and flag.

Exclusions and the Polish case

World Athletics keeps Russian and Belarusian athletes fully excluded from its competitions, saying it wants more concrete signs from peace negotiations first. In Poland, the Niezalezna outlet reports that the country lost the right to host the U20 and U23 European weightlifting championships, which were moved to Albania after Polish authorities declined to guarantee entry to Russian athletes. The same outlet says the European weightlifting federation earlier moved the U15 and U17 European championships to Madrid, citing the lack of visas for athletes from Russia and Belarus.