The 1984 Winter Paralympic Games were the third Winter Paralympics. They were held from 14 to 20 January 1984 in Innsbruck, Austria. They were the first Winter Games organized by the International Co-ordinating Committee (ICC), which was formed on March 15, 1982, in Leysin, Switzerland. These Games were accessible for all athletes with cerebral palsy. For the first time, an exhibition event was held at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo and 30 male three-track skiers took part in the Giant Slalom event. Three sports were contested: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and ice sledge speed racing. The most successful athlete was German alpine skier Reinhild Moeller, who won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal. The Games, then known as the Third World Winter Games for the Disabled, were fully sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Bulgaria first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, with a single gymnast. However, since Charles Champaud was a Swiss national living in Sofia, some sources credit his appearance to Switzerland instead.
Switzerland sent a delegation of 26 athletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The stated goal was to win a minimum of 11 medals and finish the games among the top 50 nations. Swiss athletes competed in 6 sports at the Beijing games and performed as follows:
Heinz Frei is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Frei has had a long career of racing, winning the London Marathon wheelchair race three times, and earning five medals at the 2003 European games at the age of 45. He has earned 15 gold medals at the summer and winter Paralympics and is a current world record holder in the half-marathon and marathon wheelchair races. He competed in athletics at every Summer Paralympic Games from 1984 to 2008, and at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 summer games he also participated in cycling, using a handcycle. At the Winter Paralympics, he competed in cross-country sit-skiing between 1984 and 2006 and in the biathlon in 1994.
The 1984 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 1984 Summer Paralympics, held in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom from July 22 to August 1, 1984, and New York City, United States, from June 17 to 30, 1984.
The United States (USA) has participated in every Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. The United States is first on the all-time Paralympic Games medal table.
Hungary made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, with a delegation of four athletes in track and field. Following another appearance in 1976 the country was then absent in 1980. The Hungarian delegation made a permanent return to the Paralympics in 1984. Hungary first took part in the Winter Paralympics in 2002, and continuously attended the Winter Games through 2010. Hungary was absent from the 2014 Winter Games.
Luxembourg made its Paralympic Games début at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, with two competitors in archery and one in swimming. It competed again in 1980, where Marco Schmit won the country's first medal ; and in 1984, its most successful year, where Luxembourgers won a gold medal, four silver and a bronze. The country then missed the 1988 Summer Games, returning with a two-man delegation in 1992. Luxembourg was represented by a single competitor in archery in 1996, and was absent at the 2000 and 2004 Games, returning in 2008 with a single competitor in road cycling.
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.
Portugal made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics, where it was represented solely by a men's team in wheelchair basketball. They were eliminated at the preliminary stage of the competition, with one victory and three defeats. Portugal was then absent from the Paralympic Games until the 1984 Summer Games, where its athletes won the country's first fourteen medals, including three gold in track and field and one in boccia. Portugal has competed at every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, but -almost uniquely among Western European countries- has never taken part in the Winter Games.
Switzerland competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished twenty-second in the medal table and won a total of eight medals; two silver and six bronze. Thirty-four Swiss athletes took part; thirty-two men and two women.
Switzerland competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included 41 athletes, 27 men and 14 women. Competitors from Switzerland won 16 medals, including 2 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze to finish 40th in the medal table.
Switzerland sent a delegation to compete at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, Canada. Its athletes finished fourteenth in the overall medal count.
Switzerland competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. 54 competitors from Switzerland won 20 medals including 8 gold, 4 silver and 8 bronze to finish 20th in the medal table.
Switzerland competed at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. 41 competitors from Switzerland won 35 medals including 6 gold, 16 silver and 13 bronze and finished 20th in the medal table.
Switzerland competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. 41 competitors from Switzerland won 35 medals including 12 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze and finished 21st in the medal table.
Bahrain competed at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain and New York City, United States. 12 competitors from Bahrain won 2 medals, both bronze and finished 43rd and last in the medal table.
Sweden competed at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain and New York City, United States. 97 competitors from Sweden won 160 medals including 83 gold, 43 silver and 34 bronze and finished 4th in the medal table.
Switzerland competed at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. 65 competitors from Switzerland won 29 medals including 9 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze and finished 15th in the medal table.
