Michal Escapa

Michal Escapa

Personal information
National team	Israel
Born	1937 (age 86–87)
Sport
Country	Israel
Sport	Para swimming Para table tennis Para archery Wheelchair basketball
Disability	Poliomyelitis
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Paralympic Games 2 1 4 Representing  Israel Paralympic Games Table tennis 1976 Toronto Singles 1C[1] 1968 Tel Aviv Singles B[2] 1964 Tokyo Singles B[3] 1972 Heidelberg Singles 3[4] Swimming 1964 Tokyo 25m breaststroke[5] 1964 Tokyo 25m freestyle[6] Wheelchair basketball 1968 Tel Aviv Wheelchair basketball[7] Stoke Mandeville Games Table tennis 1969 Singles

Michal Escapa (Hebrew: מיכל אסקפה) is a former Israeli Paralympic champion.^[8][9]

Escapa was born in France, immigrating to Israel as an orphan after the Second World War. At the age of 15 she was affected by polio and paralyzed in both legs and one of her arms. She studied in Jerusalem and was certified as an accountant, moving in 1962 to live in Holon and practice sports at the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled.^[10]

The national champion in wheelchair table tennis, Escapa competed in the Stoke Mandeville Games and in all four Summer Paralympics from 1964 to 1976. An accomplished table tennis player, she won a medal in each games: Gold in 1976, silver in 1968 and bronze in 1964 and 1972. During the 1972 Summer Paralympics she also competed in archery, finishing before last.^[11]

Since at the dawn of the Paralympic Games there was no precision in reporting the results of the competitions, the Israeli athlete was indicated with the Italian nationality and without prename (and so she is mentioned in the International Paralympic Committee^[12] of the Italian Paralympic Committee^[13] web sites) for the reports of the Swimming at the 1964 Summer Paralympics where she won two bronze medals, simply reported as Escapa and not as Michal Escapa.^[9] However, as can be seen from a 1968 Israeli newspaper reporting an interview with the athlete, she was the same athlete who had won medals in swimming and table tennis in Tokyo 1964.^[14]

Year	Competition	Venue	Rank	Event	Notes
Swimming
1964	Summer Paralympics	Tokyo	3rd	25 m freestyle prone incomplete class 2	[14]
			3rd	25 m breaststroke incomplete class 2	[14]
Table tennis
1964	Summer Paralympics	Tokyo	3rd	Singles B	[14]
1968	Summer Paralympics	Tel Aviv	2nd	Singles B
1972	Summer Paralympics	Heidelberg	3rd	Singles 3
1976	Summer Paralympics	Toronto	1st	Singles 1C
Wheelchair basketball
1968	Summer Paralympics	Tel Aviv	1st	Team

• French Jews in Israel

• Michal Escapa at Paralympic.org
• Michal Escapa at Paralympic.org