MOSCOW, February 25 (R-Sport) - The Russian town of Alexin will host the 2013 Open Powerlifting European Championships for disabled athletes, the International Paralympic Committee said Monday.
Alexin is located 150 kilometers south from Moscow and will welcome around 250 athletes from May 22 through 28 for the first major event since London 2012.
“This will be the first Open European Championships in the sport in six years, and I hope it will be the first of many more IPC Powerlifting regional championships to come in the near future,” IPC chief executive officer Xavier Gonzalez said on his organization's website.
“Our goal is to further develop and enhance the sport by offering more competitions on an international level between Paralympic Games.”
Alexin is a major center for Russian Paralympians, and a specialized training center for disabled athletes opened there in August.
In London, powerlifters competed in 20 weight categories, with Nigeria coming out top of the table with 12 medals, six of them gold.
