Ukrainian athletes will not participate in the 2030 World Weightlifting Championship, which the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) decided to hold in Moscow. Ukraine intends to challenge the choice of the tournament's host country and seek the relocation of the competition from Russia.
This was announced on October 26 by Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matvii Bidnyi on the air of "Suspilne Studio".
"Our athletes will not go to Moscow", — emphasized the minister.
According to Bidnyi, the international federation's decision goes beyond the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the return of Russian athletes to international competitions.
The minister noted that Ukraine generally supports the participation of its athletes in international tournaments, so as not to leave sports arenas to representatives of Russia. However, holding the world championship directly on Russian territory, he called an exceptional situation.
Bidnyi also drew attention to the fact that the 2030 World Championship will be important for qualification for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia. According to him, Olympic licenses will be on the line at the competitions in Moscow.
This creates an additional problem for the Ukrainian national team, since refusal to participate in the tournament may affect the athletes' ability to qualify for the Olympics.
At the same time, the minister allowed that the situation may change by 2030. He expressed doubt that Russia will actually be able to host the world championship in the end.
The decision to hold the competition in Moscow was made by the IWF Executive Committee on October 25. According to the official announcement of the federation, the 2029 World Championship will take place in Ahmedabad, India, while the 2030 tournament was awarded to the Russian capital.
This is the first case since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine when an international federation of an Olympic sport has granted Russia the right to host a senior world championship of this level.
Earlier, the IWF also allowed Russian and Belarusian weightlifters to compete at international events under national flags and with anthems in all age categories.
Ukraine is preparing official appeals to the IWF and IOC demanding a review of the decision to hold the championship in Russia.
Bidnyi said that the Ukrainian side will seek a new, transparent selection of the host country. The relevant issue is planned to be discussed with international partners, in particular with sports ministers of the European Union and Council of Europe member states.
State coach of the Ukrainian national weightlifting team Dmytro Sukhotskyi earlier said that the IWF decision was unexpected for Ukrainian athletes. According to him, the federation should explain whether the safety of the Ukrainian team was considered when selecting Moscow.
He added that the possible legal mechanisms to appeal the decision still need to be studied together with lawyers, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
Thus, Ukraine intends to seek the relocation of the world championship and, if the tournament remains in Moscow, to refuse to participate in it.
