South Africa at the Paralympics | |
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IPC code | RSA |
NPC | South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee |
Website | www |
Medals Ranked 18th |
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Summer appearances | |
Winter appearances | |
South Africa has competed at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
The country made its Paralympic début at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan, 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. 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. [1]
The country continued to compete at the Summer Paralympics until 1976, included. [2]
The States-General (national Parliament) of the Netherlands, the host country of the 1980 Summer Paralympics, adopted a motion declaring South Africa's participation in the 1980 Games "undesirable". [3] 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. [4]
South Africa made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. 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 Bruce Warner, has represented South Africa at the Winter Games. He has yet to win a medal. [5]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
1964 Tokyo | 8 | 8 | 3 | 19 |
1968 Tel Aviv | 9 | 10 | 7 | 26 |
1972 Heidelberg | 16 | 12 | 13 | 41 |
1976 Toronto | 6 | 9 | 11 | 26 |
1992 Barcelona | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
1996 Atlanta | 10 | 8 | 10 | 28 |
2000 Sydney | 13 | 12 | 13 | 38 |
2004 Athens | 15 | 13 | 7 | 35 |
2008 Beijing | 21 | 3 | 6 | 30 |
2012 London | 8 | 12 | 9 | 29 |
2016 Rio de Janeiro | 7 | 6 | 4 | 17 |
2020 Tokyo | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Totals (12 entries) | 121 | 95 | 88 | 304 |
The 1964 Summer Paralympics, originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964, were the second Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Tokyo, Japan, and were the last Summer Paralympics to take place in the same city as the Summer Olympics until the 1988 Summer Paralympics.
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 first Paralympics in the Latin American territory would be in 2016 and in the first Spanish-speaking country would be in 1992. 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 1976 Summer Paralympics, branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 3 to 11 August 1976, marking the first time a Paralympics was held in the Americas and in Canada. The games began three days after the close of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
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.
South Africa first participated at the Olympic Games in 1904, and sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games until 1960. After the passage of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 in 1962 in response to South Africa's policy of apartheid, the nation was barred from the Games. After the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa commenced in 1990, the nation re-joined the Olympic movement. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee was created in 1991, and South Africa returned to the Games at the 1992 Summer Olympics. South Africa also participated in the Winter Olympic Games in 1960, and since 1994. South African athletes have won a total of 90 medals, with athletics, boxing, and swimming as the top medal-producing sports.
Algeria first competed at the Olympic Games in 1964, and has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the boycotted 1976 Summer Olympics. Algeria has also sent athletes to the Winter Olympic Games on three occasions. The National Olympic Committee for Algeria is the Comité Olympique Algérien, founded in 1963.
Morocco first participated in the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they joined the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Morocco also boycotted the 1976 Games, withdrawing after having initially sent a delegation. In doing so, Morocco joined the boycott of the Games by most African countries, in protest against New Zealand's participation following an All Blacks rugby match, unrelated to the Olympics, against an apartheid team from South Africa. Only one Moroccan representative had time to compete before his country's withdrawal: Abderahim Najim took part in the Men's Light Flyweight event in boxing, and lost his first and only match before joining the national contingent's premature departure.
Zimbabwe participated for the first time at the Olympic Games under its current name in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Previously, it competed at the Games under the name Rhodesia in 1928, 1960 and 1964. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi marked Zimbabwe's first participation at the Winter Olympic Games, with Luke Steyn, the Zimbabwean born athlete participating in alpine skiing.
Iraq first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948. It was absent from the 1952 Summer Olympics and boycotted the 1956 games over opposition to the Suez Crisis. Iraq returned to win a Bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After participating in the next three games, it did not appear in the 1972 and 1976 games to boycott apartheid South Africa. Iraq was the second non-African country to join the 1976 Boycott, the other being Guyana. Since 1980, Iraq has appeared in every game.
Tofiri Kibuuka is an Ugandan-born Norwegian athlete. He has participated in both the Winter Paralympic Games, in cross-country skiing and in the Summer Paralympic Games, in mid- and long-distance running. Active from 1976 to 2000, he won five Paralympic silver medals, and one bronze.
Uganda has competed at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
South Africa made its Paralympic Games début at the 1964 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan and finished 6th on the medal table.
Namibia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. These were the first Summer Paralympics to be held since the country's accession to independence from South Africa in 1990, and thus the first Games in which Namibia was able to take part. For its inaugural participation, the country sent just two athletes, both women, who both competed in discus, javelin and shot put. They did not win any medals.
Southern Rhodesia first participated as Rhodesia in the Olympic Games in 1928, when it sent two boxers to Amsterdam, both of whom were eliminated in their second bout. The colony did not appear at the Games under a Rhodesian banner until 1960, when it sent a fourteen-athlete delegation as part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In Rome, two sailors, Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan, finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result until it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Southern Rhodesia sent 29 competitors, including a field hockey team, to the 1964 Summer Games, which was its last Olympic appearance under the Rhodesian banner.
Myanmar has been a sporadic participant in the Paralympic Games. It first competed, as Burma, at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, with a delegation in track and field and shooting. These athletes were fairly successful, Tin Ngwe becoming Burma's first Paralympic champion by winning the men's 100m sprint in the C1 category. Aung Than won silver in the same event, while Tin Win took bronze in the men's 100m in category C. Burma was absent from the 1980 Games, returning in 1984 to take part in volleyball and track and field. Tin Ngwe, in category A3, won gold in the men's high jump, and silver in the long jump, while Aung Gyi won silver and bronze, respectively, in those same two events. In both Burma's appearances in the Paralympics, it fielded all-male delegations.
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.
South Africa sent a team to compete at the 1972 Summer Paralympics held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August. They sent twenty five competitors, twelve male and thirteen female. The team won forty-one medals—sixteen gold, twelve silver and thirteen bronze—and finished fourth in the medal table.
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.
South Africa did not compete at Olympic Games from 1964 to 1988, as a part of the sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era. The South African National Olympic Committee (NOC) was expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1970. In 1991, as part of the transition to multiracial equality, a new NOC was formed and admitted to the IOC, and the country competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona.