Tunisia made its

Paralympic Games 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 impaire ...

debut at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

in Seoul. It was represented by a single athlete,

Monaam Elabed Monaam Elabed is a Tunisian Paralympian track and field athlete. He was the first Tunisian to participate in a Paralympic Games, when in 1988, he won two bronze medals in 400m C6 and 3000m cross country C6 event. He also competed in th ...

, who won two bronze medals in athletics. The country has competed in every subsequent edition of the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

, although it has never taken part in the

Winter Paralympics 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. Th ...

. Tunisian competitors have only ever taken part in athletics events, with the sole exception of

Dalila Tabai Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

who competed in powerlifting in 2000.Tunisia at the Paralympics

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...

Tunisians have won a total of 23 gold medals, 22 silver and 9 bronze. The country's first gold medals came in 2000, when

Wissam Ben Bahri Wissam Ben Bahri is a paralympic track and field, athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F20 long jump and high jump events. Wissam competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics where he won a silver medal in the long jump as well as ...

took gold in the high jump,

Ali Ghribi Ali Ghribi is a Paralympic athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category P58 pentathlon events. He competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. There he won a gold medal in the men's Pentathlon - P58 event. He also co ...

in the pentathlon,

Fares Hamdi Fares Hamdi (born 17 April 1980) is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F37 long jump events. Fares has competed in three Paralympic Games, winning a medal at each one, always in a different event. His first success ...

in the long jump, and

Maher Bouallegue Maher Bouallegue ( ar, ماهر بوعلاق) is a retired Paralympian Track and field, athlete from Tunisia competed mainly in category T13 800m to 10000m events. He is a seven-times Paralympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trained ...

won three gold medals in running - in the 800 m, 1,500 m and 5,000 m races, in the T13 category for partially sighted athletes. In 2004, Bouallegue won three gold again - in the 1,500 m 5,000 m and 10,000 m events. The same year,

Enna Ben Abidi Enna Ben Abidi is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F40 throwing events. Enna won a complete set of medals in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆν ...

took gold in the discus;

Mohamed Charmi Mohamed Charmi (born May 28, 1981) is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category T37 middle-distance events. Mohamed has competed in three Paralympic Games and has picked up 6 medals. His first Games were in 2004 in Athens. ...

in the 1,500 m race in the T37 category; and Afrah Gomdi in both javelin and shot put. Tunisia also won gold in the men's 4x400 m race, in the T35-38 category. Most recently, in 2008, Somaya Bousaid won the 800 m and 1,500 m races in the T13 category, while

Farhat Chida Mohamed Farhat Chida ( ar, محمد فرحات شيدة; born September 11, 1982) is a Paralympic athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category T38 sprint events. Biographies Between 1990 and 1997, Mohamed competed in able bodied athletics a ...

took gold in both the 400 m race (T38) and in the long jump.

Mourad Idoudi Mourad Idoudi (born September 3, 1984) is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F32 throwing events. Mourad competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China where he won gold medals in both the F32/51 club th ...

won the club throw and discus (F32/51); Faouzi Rzig the javelin (F33/34/52); Raoua Tlili the shot put (F40); and Abderrahim Zhiou the 800 m (T12). Tunisia participated at the 1999 Arab Paralympics, held in Amman, Jordan. Tunisia won twelve gold medals, eight silver medals, and two bronze medals at the event. They finished fifth out of sixteen nations that competed at the games. Tunisia will be taking part in the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

, and the Tunisian Paralympic Committee have chosen Bedford as the UK training base for its Paralympians.

Medals

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Summer Sport

Medalists

See also

References