The Championships - organised by the Russian Sport Federation for Physically Disabled Athletes - will begin next Wednesday (May 22) and run through to the following Sunday (May 26), attracting 137 athletes from 27 nations as they battle it out for European glory in the first major gathering of international powerlifters since London 2012.

The competition will include the new weight categories, which took effect on January 1, changing the structure of weight classes following an extensive review of all bodyweight category trends across major competitions.

Russia's Vladimir Balynetc (left) will compete on home soil at the European Championships

IPC Powerlifting Sport Manager Jorge Moreno said: "This is a great chance to showcase the strength of our sport post-London 2012 and let fans around the globe watch some of the best powerlifters in the world begin their journeys to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games."

Russia will have the largest delegation in Aleksin with 31 athletes, with Poland and Turkey each sending 13 and Iraq sending 10.

The home favourite dubbed "Ironman" by his fans, Paralympic silver medallist Vladimir Balynetc, will look to star in the -49kg category as Britain's Ali Jawad makes his comeback in the -59kg category after suffering a relapse of Crohn's disease.

A schedule of live events to be streamed live can be found here.

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