Israel was the host nation of the

1968 Summer Paralympics The 1968 Summer Paralympics ( he, 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 th ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. The Israeli team finished third in the

medal table The Olympic medal table is a method of sorting the medal placements of countries in the modern-day Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not officially recognize a ranking of participating countries at the Olympic ...

and won sixty-two medals: eighteen gold, twenty-one silver and twenty-three bronze. Over 750 athletes from 28 nations took part in the Games; the Israeli team included 53 athletes, 37 men and 15 women.

Background

Israel hosted these Games. Their desire to be the host stemmed from their desire to celebrate their country's 20th birthday. They got the Games after technical problems forced the Mexican government to withdraw from hosting the Games following the Olympics.

Archery

Four Israeli archers competed at the Games, none won a medal. In the St. Nicholas round for paraplegic women Even-Sahav finished seventh with 524 points. In the equivalent men's event Israeli athletes Feld, Kirschner and Even-Sahav finished twenty-fourth, twenty-third and twelfth respectively

Athletics

Twenty-seven members of the Israeli team competed in athletics events, winning thirty-two medals, nine gold, eleven silver and twelve bronze.

Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum (born 1946) is an Israeli athlete who has won 31 Paralympic medals. She has represented Israel at the Summer Paralympic Games seven times and has competed in athletics, swimming, table tennis, and wheelchair basketball at th ...

won gold medals in the club throw, javelin, shot put and pentathlon and a silver medal in the discus for the host nation. Other athletes that won multiple medals for Israel included; Halfon, who won two gold and two silver medals in women's special class field events; Ora Goldstein who won bronze medals in

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

; Mishani who took gold in the 60 metres wheelchair dash and also won four silver medals; and Siri who won two silver and four bronze medals.

Table tennis

Nineteen table tennis players competed for Israel and won four gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Baruch Hagai Baruch Hagai ( he, ברוך חגאי; born 1944) is an Israeli paralympic champion. Early life Hagai was born in Tripoli, Libya, to a Jewish family of 13. At the age of two he contracted polio, and five years later h ...

won the gold medal in the men's singles C classification and teamed up with

Arieh Rubin Arieh Rubin ( he, אריה רובין; born 1952) is an Israeli paralympic swimming (sport), swimming champion. He competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics, 1968, 1972 Summer Paralympics, 1972 and 1976 Summer Paralympics, 1976, winning 9 medals ...

to also win gold in the doubles C.

Wheelchair basketball

Israel entered teams in both the men's and women's wheelchair basketball events and won the gold medal in each. The women's event took the form of a single pool stage with medals awarded to the top three teams. Israel won all four of their matches scoring 67 points and conceding 17. The men's event featured a pool stage followed by a knockout competition. Israel beat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to advance to the quarterfinals. They then beat

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, France, for a second time, and the United States to take gold. The Israeli team was captained by Baruch Hagai.

Notes

References

{{NPCin1968SummerParalympics Nations at the 1968 Summer Paralympics

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...