 | |
| Location | Tel Aviv, Israel[1] |
|---|---|
| Nations | 29[2] |
| Athletes | 750[2] |
| Events | 181 in 10sports |
| Opening | 4 November 1968 |
| Closing | 13 November 1968 |
| Opened by | Deputy Prime MinisterYigal Allon |
| Stadium | Hebrew University Stadium |
| 1968 Summer Olympics | |
The1968 Summer Paralympics (Hebrew:המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the thirdParalympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of theInternational Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as the17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time.[3] The games were originally planned to be held alongside the1968 Summer Olympics inMexico City, but in 1966, the Mexican government decided against it due to difficulties.[4] The Israeli government offered to host the games inTel Aviv, a suggestion that was accepted.
The opening ceremony took place in theHebrew University stadium at theGivat Ram campus inJerusalem and the games took place inRamat Gan,Tel Aviv District, at theIsrael Sports Center for the Disabled. The closing ceremony took place in theTel Aviv Trade Center. Therefore, these games were the first in Paralympic history to not be held concurrently with theOlympic Games.
Lawn bowls was included in the program for the first time. Inwheelchair basketball, a women's team event was added, as was a 100 m wheelchair race for men inathletics.[5]
The top ten listedNOCs 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 | |
Twenty-eight delegations took part in the Tel Aviv Paralympics.[6][7]Canada,Denmark,Ethiopia,India,Jamaica,New Zealand,South Korea andSpain 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 ofapartheid, but it was not banned from the Paralympics until1980 Summer Paralympics inArnhem.[8][9]
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)| Preceded by | Summer Paralympics Tel Aviv III Paralympic Summer Games (1968) | Succeeded by |