1968 Summer Paralympics

Multi-parasport event in Tel Aviv, Israel

III Paralympic Games

Location| Tel Aviv, Israel[1]
Nations| 28
Athletes| 750
Events| 181 in 10 sports
Opening| 4 November 1968
Closing| 13 November 1968
Opened by|

Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Allon

Stadium| Hebrew University Stadium

← Tokyo 1964

Heidelberg 1972 →

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Paralympics (Hebrew: המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time.[2] The games were originally planned to be held alongside the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but in 1966, the Mexican government decided against it due to difficulties.[3] The Israeli government offered to host the games in Tel Aviv, a suggestion that was accepted.

The opening ceremony took place in the Hebrew University stadium at the Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem and the games took place in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District, at the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled. The closing ceremony took place in the Tel Aviv Trade Center. Therefore, these games were the first in Paralympic history to not be held concurrently with the Olympic Games.

## Sports

[edit]

Ora Goldstein receiving Gold Medal

Lawn bowls was included in the program for the first time. In wheelchair basketball, a women's team event was added, as was a 100 m wheelchair race for men in athletics.[4]

* Archery
* Dart archery
* Athletics
* Lawn bowls
* Snooker
* Swimming
* Table tennis
* Weightlifting
* Wheelchair basketball
* Wheelchair fencing

## Medal table

[edit]

Main article: 1968 Summer Paralympics medal table

The top ten listed NOCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation, Israel, is highlighted.

Rank| Nation| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  United States| 33| 27| 39| 99
2|  Great Britain| 29| 20| 20| 69
3|  Israel*| 18| 21| 23| 62
4|  Australia| 15| 16| 7| 38
5|  France| 13| 10| 9| 32
6|  West Germany| 12| 12| 11| 35
7|  Italy| 12| 10| 17| 39
8|  Netherlands| 12| 4| 4| 20
9|  Argentina| 10| 10| 10| 30
10|  South Africa| 9| 10| 7| 26
Totals (10 entries)| 163| 140| 147| 450

## Participating delegations

[edit]

Twenty-eight delegations took part in the Tel Aviv Paralympics.[5][6] Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Korea and Spain took part in the Summer Paralympics for the first time.

Having made its Paralympic Games début four years earlier, South Africa continued to compete at the Paralympics, by sending a delegation to the Tel Aviv Games. It was, at the time, banned from the Olympic Games due to its policy of apartheid, but it was not banned from the Paralympics until 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem.[7][8]

*  Argentina (21)
*  Australia (35)
*  Austria (31)
*  Belgium (26)
*  Canada (25)
*  Denmark (8)
*  Ethiopia (2)
*  Finland (2)
*  France (54)
*  Great Britain (74)
*  India (10)
*  Ireland (7)
*  Israel (54)
*  Italy (38)
*  Jamaica (11)
*  Japan (47)
*  Malta (6)
*  Netherlands (35)
*  New Zealand (18)
*  Norway (28)
*  Rhodesia (14)
*  South Africa (8)
*  South Korea (5)
*  Spain (11)
*  Sweden (32)
*  Switzerland (34)
*  United States (82)
*  West Germany (58)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Although officially called the Tel Aviv Paralympics, the opening ceremony was conducted in Jerusalem and the games took place in Ramat Gan.
2. ^ Summer Games Governance 1960 to 1992. International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation. Retrieved on 2011-05-07.
3. ^ "1968 Tel Aviv". insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media Company. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
4. ^ "Tel Aviv 1968". International Paralympic Committee. 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
5. ^ "Medal Standings - Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
6. ^ "Participation Numbers in 1968 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
7. ^ "'The Netherlands against Apartheid' - 1970s", International Institute of Social History
8. ^ South Africa at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee

Preceded by

Tokyo

|  Summer Paralympics
Tel Aviv
III Paralympic Summer Games (1968)  | Succeeded by

Heidelberg

|
|

* v
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* e

Israel at the Paralympics

Summer Paralympic Games|

* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Winter Paralympic Games|

* 2022

Host year|

* 1968

National team|

* Israel men's national goalball team
* Israel women's national goalball team

Related|

* Flag bearers

* v
* t
* e

Events at the 1968 Summer Paralympics (Tel Aviv)

* Archery
* Athletics
* Dartchery
* Lawn bowls
* Snooker
* Swimming
* Table tennis
* Weightlifting
* Wheelchair basketball
* Wheelchair fencing

* v
* t
* e

Paralympic Games

* Charter
* Host cities
* IPC
* NPCs
* Medal tables
* Medalists
* Participating nations
* Summer
* Winter
* Sports
* Symbols

Summer Games|

* 1960 Rome
* 1964 Tokyo
* 1968 Tel Aviv
* 1972 Heidelberg
* 1976 Toronto
* 1980 Arnhem
* 1984 New York / Stoke Mandeville
* 1988 Seoul
* 1992 Barcelona / Madrid
* 1996 Atlanta
* 2000 Sydney
* 2004 Athens
* 2008 Beijing
* 2012 London
* 2016 Rio de Janeiro
* 2020 Tokyo†
* 2024 Paris
* 2028 Los Angeles
* 2032 Brisbane

Winter Games|

* 1976 Örnsköldsvik
* 1980 Geilo
* 1984 Innsbruck
* 1988 Innsbruck
* 1992 Tignes / Albertville
* 1994 Lillehammer
* 1998 Nagano
* 2002 Salt Lake City
* 2006 Turin
* 2010 Vancouver
* 2014 Sochi
* 2018 PyeongChang
* 2022 Beijing
* 2026 Milano Cortina
* 2030 French Alps
* 2034 Salt Lake City–Utah

†Postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
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