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 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.
Volleyball at the Summer Paralympics was first held in 1976, when the traditional form of standing volleyball for men was contested and sitting volleyball for men was a demonstration sport. From 1980 through 2000, men's standing and sitting events were contested. The women's sitting volleyball event was introduced in 2004.
Wheelchair basketball has been contested at the Summer Paralympic Games since the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome.
Athletics at the 1980 Summer Paralympics consisted of 275 events. The Games saw 1,973 Para athletes from 43 countries compete in 13 sports.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. Its athletes finished first in the gold and overall medal count.
Greece, the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games that hosted the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, did not compete in the Summer Paralympics until 1976 and in the Winter Paralympics until 2002, but since then the Greeks have taken part in every edition of both events. Although the Greek delegation traditionally enters first during the parade of nations at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, this tradition does not apply to the Paralympics, where Greece enters within alphabetical order. The National Paralympic Committee for Greece is the Hellenic Paralympic Committee.
The 1980 Summer Paralympics medal table is a list of National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) ranked by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the 1980 Summer Paralympics, held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.
The Netherlands participated in the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where it sent a delegation of five athletes. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics. It made its Winter Paralympics début in 1984, and has taken part in every subsequent edition of the Games, except 2006. The Netherlands was the host country of the 1980 Summer Paralympics, in Arnhem.
Australia competed at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. It was the 6th Summer Paralympic Games in which Australia had competed. These Games were the biggest Paralympics yet, with 1,973 people participating. Of those participants, 57 were Australian. The team was made up of 45 men and 12 women, and was Australia's largest team to compete at any Paralympic Games so far.
Following the success of the first ever 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik four years earlier, Norway was selected to host the Paralympic Games in 1980.
Netherlands competed at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, Canada. The team included 58 athletes, 41 men and 17 women. Competitors from Netherlands won 84 medals, including 45 gold, 25 silver and 14 bronze to finish 2nd in the medal table.
Italy sent a delegation to compete at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. Its athletes finished twentieth in the overall medal count.
Netherlands competed at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville/New York City, United States. The team included 61 athletes, 40 men and 21 women. Competitors from Netherlands won 135 medals, including 55 gold, 52 silver and 28 bronze to finish 7th in the medal table.
Indonesia sent a delegation to compete at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. Its athletes finished twenty eighth in the overall medal count.
Tom Andreas Nordtvedt is a retired Paralympic swimmer from Norway. He was born and raised in Trondheim but is now living in Ørland. Nordtvedt has won medals at two Paralympics as well as other European and World championships events.
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.
James Muirhead was a British Paralympic swimmer who won thirteen medals at the Summer Paralympic Games. His Paralympic debut was at the 1976 Summer Paralympics where he won two gold medals and two silvers. Muirhead repeated that feat in Arnhem for the 1980 Games, albeit in different events. He returned from the 1984 Summer Paralympics with a fifth gold, another silver, and three bronze medals.
Pilar Javaloyas is a Spanish paralympic athlete who competed in Para swimming. She won eleven medals at the 1980, 1984, and 1988 Summer Paralympics.
