The 1968 Summer Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held in Tel Aviv, Israel, from November 4 to 13, 1968, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another.[1][2] The Paralympics are run in parallel with the Olympic Games; these Games were originally planned to be held alongside the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but two years prior to the event the Mexican government pulled out due to technical difficulties.[3] At the time, the event was known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games.[4][5] The Stoke Mandeville Games were a forerunner to the Paralympics first organized by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in 1948.[2] This medal table ranks the competing National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.

A total of 576 medals were awarded in 10 sports. Athletes from 22 of the 28 competing NPCs won at least one medal with the United States taking both the most gold, with 33, and most in total, with 99.[6] Host nation Israel won 62 medals at the Games, 18 gold, 21 silver and 23 bronze. Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum won gold medals in the club throw, javelin, shot put and pentathlon and a silver medal in the discus for the host nation.[7] South Africa, who were banned from the Olympic Games because of the policy of apartheid, were invited to the Paralympics and won a total of 26 medals.[6][8]

Italian athlete Roberto Marson, who had previously won two gold medals in athletics at the 1964 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, was proclaimed the outstanding athlete of the Games. He won ten gold medals, three in athletics field events, three in swimming and four in wheelchair fencing.[3] Ed Owen of the United States won medals in three different sports; four golds and a bronze in athletics, two golds in swimming and a silver in wheelchair basketball.[3][9]

Medal table

See also: Olympic medal table

The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IPC country code.

Two bronze medals were awarded in each dartchery, snooker, table tennis and lawn bowls event.[10][11][12][13] Some swimming events did not award silver or bronze medals.[14]

  *   Host nation (Israel)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States33273999
2 Great Britain29202069
3 Israel*18212362
4 Australia1516738
5 France1310932
6 West Germany12121135
7 Italy12101739
8 Netherlands124420
9 Argentina10101030
10 South Africa910726
11 Rhodesia67720
12 Canada66719
13 Norway5319
14 Jamaica3115
15 Austria271019
16 Japan22812
17 Sweden16411
18 New Zealand1214
19 Ireland0459
20 Belgium0336
21 Spain0314
22 Switzerland0268
Totals (22 entries)189186201576

See also

References

  • "Medal Standings – Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
Specific
  1. ^ "Paralympic Games History – Summer". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Tel Aviv 1968". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Summer Games Governance 1960 to 1992". International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Irish Set Issued". Reading Eagle. 17 November 1968. p. 93. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Medal Standings Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Zipora Rubin Rosenbaum". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee.
  8. ^ "The Netherlands against Apartheid – 1970s". International Institute of Social History. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  9. ^ "Ed Owen". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee.
  10. ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Dartchery". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Snooker". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Table Tennis". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  13. ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Lawn Bowls". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Swimming". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 May 2011.

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