The 1968 Summer Paralympics were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time. The games were originally planned to be held alongside the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but in 1966, the Mexican government decided against it due to difficulties. The Israeli government offered to host the games in Tel Aviv, a suggestion that was accepted.
The 1972 Summer Paralympics, the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, also in West Germany.
The 1980 Summer Paralympics, 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.
Lawn bowls at the 1988 Summer Paralympics consisted of six events, five for men and one for women.
Athletics at the 1980 Summer Paralympics consisted of 275 events. The Games saw 1,973 Para athletes from 43 countries compete in 13 sports.
Lawn bowls at the 1980 Summer Paralympics consisted of nineteen events, thirteen for men and six for women.
Margaret Gardner Maughan was a British competitive archer, dartcher and lawn bowler. She was Britain's first gold medallist at the Paralympic Games, and won four gold and two silver medals at the Games. She lit the cauldron at the Olympic Stadium in London at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Ethiopia's participation in the Paralympic Games has been sporadic. The country made its Paralympic début at the 1968 Summer Games in Tel Aviv, sending two competitors who both competed in both athletics and table tennis. Ethiopia was then absent from the Games for almost a decade, returning in 1976 with a one-man delegation Abraham Habte, who entered athletics, lawn bowls and table tennis. In 1980, Habte was again Ethiopia's only representative, this time competing only in lawn bowls. Ethiopia then entered a prolonged period of absence, before sending a single runner to the 2004 Games. In 2008, the country entered a two-man delegation in athletics. In 2012, Wondiye Fikre Indelbu became the first Ethiopian to win a medal in the Paralympic Games, winning a silver in the men's 1500 meters - T46 event in athletics.
The women's pairs 2–5 was one of the events held in lawn bowls at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem.
Indonesia made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, with competitors in athletics, lawn bowls, swimming and table tennis. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, except 1992, but has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics.
The 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, later known as the 1972 Summer Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from August 2 to 11, 1972, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another. The German Disabled Sports Association planned to stage the Games in Munich following the 1972 Olympic Games, however the Olympic village in Munich was designated to be closed and converted into private apartments. The organisers tried to arrange for alternative accommodation for the athletes but when this was not possible the city of Heidelberg stepped in with an invite to stage the Games at the University of Heidelberg's Institute for Physical Training.
South Africa took part in the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The country was represented by 39 athletes, twenty-nine male and ten female. South Africans competed in archery, athletics, dartchery, lawn bowls, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair basketball. They won twenty six medals in total: six golds, nine silvers and eleven bronze, finishing 19th on the medal table.
Gloria Una Pascoe was an Australian Paralympic vision-impaired lawn bowler. She also had epilepsy.
Lawn bowls has been contested at Summer Paralympics on six occasions, first appearing on the schedule in 1968 and having its most recent outing at the 1996 games. The competitions were initially divided by sex, with singles and doubles events for men and women. In 1976, divisions by disability category were introduced, greatly expanding the number of events and medals. Participation peaked at the 1976 edition, with 80 entrants from 13 countries competing in 16 events. Great Britain was the most successful nation in this sport at each of the games it was held.
India competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul from 15 to 24 October 1988. The nation made its official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and made its previous appearance in the 1984 Games. This was India's fourth appearance at the Summer Paralympics. India sent a contingent consisting of two athletes for the Games and did not win any medal.
Kenya competed at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. The seventeen member team competed in athletics, weightlifting, lawn bowls and table tennis, claiming a gold medal and two silver medals. Lucy Wanjiru 's gold in the Women's Javelin 3 event was the first gold earned by a Kenyan woman at the Paralympic Games.
Malta competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its ninth appearance at the quadrennial event with the exception of the years between 1988 and 2004. The delegation consisted of one short-distance swimmer, Vladyslava Kravchenko, who was announced as the country's representative in April 2016. She was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Kravchenko competed in three swimming events but failed to advance into the final of each event as her times in her respective competitions were not fast enough to qualify for the later stages of each contest.
Tommy Taylor was a British Paralympic athlete who won sixteen medals across five sports, including ten gold medals. Taylor was treated by Ludwig Guttmann after an accident in 1956 caused severe paralysis. He went on to compete at numerous Paralympic Games, finding particular success in para table tennis from Rome 1960 to Arnhem 1980. Eight of Taylor's gold medals came in table tennis, along with one in snooker and one in lawn bowls.
Rosa Crean is a British Paralympian. She competed in lawn bowling at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold medal for Great Britain.
Tami Carmeli is an Israeli lawn bowls player.
