The Championships had been the subject of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the event initially having been scheduled last April before being moved to October and November.

The pandemic forced a further delay, but competition has belatedly been able to begin today at the Palace of Gymnastics in Moscow.

Nguen topped the standings in the women’s 45kg snatch discipline by lifting 72kg.

She was followed by Turkey’s Melisa Güneş and Ukraine’s Anhelina Lomachynska, who lifted 68kg and 67kg respectively.

Bulgaria’s Ivana Petrova led the clean and jerk standings with an effort of 85kg, with Romania’s Cosmina Pana the runner-up on 84kg.

Güneş and Nguen both finished on 83kg, with the former winning bronze in the discipline on countback.

Nguen, who was banned from the sport for six months in 2015 after a positive test for stanozlol, earned the overall European title with a combined total of 155kg.

Her compatriot Petrova finished second on 152kg, with Güneş completing the podium on 151kg.

In the women's 49kg final, gold went to Monica Csengeri of Romania with a combined total of 189kg.

Csengeri topped the rankings in both the snatch and the clean and jerk disciplines on her way to a comfortable victory in the category.

Silver went to Kristina Sobol of Russia with a combined total of 181kg, after she placed second overall in the snatch and fifth overall in the clean and jerk.

Bronze also went to Romania, with Mihaela Cambei completing the podium with a combined total of 180kg, after placing fourth overall in the snatch and second overall in the clean and jerk.

The men's 55kg and 61kg competitions are due to be held tomorrow, along with the women's 55kg event.

An Opening Ceremony was held prior to competition today.

The European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) Presidential election was held on Thursday (April 1), prior to the start of the European Championships.

Turkey's Hasan Akkus was named EWF President after overcoming Antonio Conflitti of Moldova.