South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

has competed at both the

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

and

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. ...

. The country made its Paralympic début at the 1964 Summer Games in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where it sent nine athletes to compete in archery, athletics, swimming and weightlifting. They finished sixth on the medal table with nineteen medals, of which eight gold. Paradoxically, South Africa thus began to compete at the Paralympics just after being barred from competing at the Olympics. South Africa had been banned from the Olympic Games following the passing of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 which, in 1962, condemned the country's policy of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. South Africa was not, however, banned from the Paralympics, and was therefore present at the 1964 Paralympics despite being absent from the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. The country continued to compete at the Summer Paralympics until 1976, included. The States-General (national Parliament) of 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 ...

, the host country of the

1980 Summer Paralympics The 1980 Summer Paralympics ( nl, Paralympische Zomerspelen 1980), branded as the Olympics for the Disabled, were the sixth Summer Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 21 to 30 June 1980. Background The Soviet Union, h ...

, adopted a motion declaring South Africa's participation in the 1980 Games "undesirable". South Africa was subsequently absent from the Paralympic Games until 1992, at which point it also made its return to the Olympics, in the context of the dismantling of apartheid. It has competed at the Summer Games ever since. South Africa made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Games in

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

. It thus became the second African country to compete at the Winter Paralympics, following Uganda in 1976. South Africa has competed at every edition of the Winter Paralympics since then. To date, only one athlete,

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

Bruce Warner, has represented South Africa at the Winter Games. He has yet to win a medal.South Africa at the Paralympics
International Paralympic Committee

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

References

{{Nations at the Paralympics

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

See also

References