Ningbo (CHN) will host the 2026 IWF World Championships  

The city of Ningbo, in China, will be the host of the 2026 edition of the IWF World Championships, after a vote by the IWF Executive Board, meeting today in Doha (QAT). This IWF showcase will be staged following the World Championships in 2024 in Manama (BRN) and the 2025 rendezvous in Forde (NOR).

 

Ningbo is located in the northeast province of Zhejiang, not far from the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou. It has a population of over nine million citizens and has acquired recent successful experience in staging sports international events. The competition venue of the Championships will be the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre, a facility constructed in 2019 and with a 10,000-seat capacity. Moreover, all the proposed hotels to host the participants in the competition will be within a 30-minute distance by car from the venue.

 

The IWF Executive Board also awarded two other important competitions, both to be held in 2025: the IWF World Youth Championships will take place in Lima (PER), while the IWF World Junior Championships were given to the city Tashkent (UZB).

 

The allocation of these important IWF rendezvous was the highlight of the meeting, which also approved the provisional budget of the international federation for 2024, the revalidation of the IWF Refugee Team programme for next year, and the creation of the Weightlifting World Day, to be annually celebrated on October 16, the date in which the IOC decided in 2023 to reinstate the sport in the programme of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

IWF Executive Board members

 

“We have shown once more our unity and co-operation while taking important decisions for the future of the IWF. Our events are now increasing in quality and in exposure, and this shows a positive evolution of our sport around the globe,” considered the IWF President Mohammed Jalood. “The most recent example is here in Qatar. With almost 400 lifters from 100 countries, we will have a great competition during the next 10 days. I am sure that many outstanding performances will be set in Doha, as this is an important Olympic qualification event. We all feel at home in Qatar and the hospitality of our hosts is really amazing,” concluded Mr Jalood.

 

This Monday, December 4, kicks off the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, the vibrant capital of Qatar, the last IWF event of the year, gathering some of the best lifters of the planet, still aiming at getting their ticket for the 2024 Paris Games.

IWF Communications