Breaking taboos in world sport – World Cup in Olympic sport awarded to Russia again

The world weightlifting association IWF has awarded the major events for the years 2028 to 2030 - and in the process broke a taboo. The 2030 World Cup will take place in the Russian capital Moscow, according to an IMF announcement on Sunday.

It is the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that an Olympic association has awarded such a major event to Russia. So far, only events in niche sports have taken place in Russia since the start of the war, such as the 2025 All-Style Karate World Cup.

Russia thanked Alexander Vinokurov, president of the local weightlifting association, “for the trust shown”. In a post on Telegram, he highlighted that his country has “the necessary experience and capacity to host competitions at the highest level.” Moscow has “already hosted important international sporting events on several occasions”.

The world association spoke of “excellent applications” from all future organizers. “We are sure that the championships will be a great success in their respective countries.” In 2029, the World Cup will be held in Ahmedabad, India, the 2028 Youth World Cup in Pristina (Kosovo) and the 2028 Junior World Cup in Caracas (Venezuela).

Ukrainian weightlifter died in war

However, the award to Russia is particularly explosive, also because the Ukrainian weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko died in combat at the front in May 2024. He became European champion in the under 85 kilogram category in 2016 and 2017 and took part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The 2030 World Cup will now also serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2032 Summer Olympics. They take place in Brisbane. The IMF decision comes at a time when Russia is increasingly returning to the stage of international sport. In the summer, the International Olympic Committee relaxed its sanctions and decided that Russian athletes in team sports would be allowed to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Most recently, in Paris 2024 and Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026, there were just over a dozen Russians at the start as neutral athletes.