Ukrainian Lviv Hosts 2012 World Veteran Weightlifting Championships

Kyiv, August 7, 2012. Western Ukrainian city of Lviv is getting ready to host the IWF-World Masters Weightlifting Championships in September 2012. Notably, a little over a month ago Ukraine hosted the EURO 2012 European football championship and is already planning to accommodate the Euro Basketball Championships (2015).

According to the organizers of the international weightlifting sporting event, 500 participants representing 40 different countries (including China, Japan, India, Russia, etc.) have registered for the championships. In order to qualify for the tournament the athletes must be members of their national federation and be eligible to compete and meet the 2012 Qualifying Standards.

Both men and women athletes must be 35 years of age (born 1977) or older. The oldest sportsman out of the registered participants of the Masters Weightlifting Championships in Lviv is 70 years old.

28^th Men’s and 19^th Women’s Championships will be taking place on September 15-22. Lviv was selected as the weightlifting championships’ venue in 2010. Throughout the EURO football championship (June 8^th through July 1^st, 2012) Lviv hosted three football games and welcomed 150, 000 people from 30 different countries. At the time the city was able to provide 2, 725 hotel rooms, exceeding the estimated demand by 200 rooms. “We, the city, are devoted to holding this championship in a way that would make people want to return to Lviv,” stated the organizers of the major sporting event.

Interestingly, on August 6, 2012, Ukrainian weightlifter Oleksiy Torokhtiy won gold medal in the 105 kilogram category among men at the Games of the XXX Olympiad. Torokhtiy lifted a total of 412 kilograms, including the clean and jerk of 227 kilograms and 185 kilograms in the snatch.

The international weightlifters will not be coming to Lviv alone – they will be accompanied by the multicultural representatives of mass media, who will be covering the event.

Lviv among such western Ukrainian cities as Slavske, Stryi, Trostian, Truskavets, Tysovets, and Volovets have been identified as possible hosting locations for 2022 Winter Olympics. Other cities that might compete for the right to host the competition include Denver, Geneva, Montreal, and Zurich. Ukraine started its preparations for hosting winter Games in late 2010.