This article needs to be updated.(December 2017) |
Zimbabwe at the Paralympics | |
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IPC code | ZIM |
NPC | Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee |
Medals |
|
Summer appearances | |
Other related appearances | |
Rhodesia (1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972) |
Zimbabwe has been competing at the Paralympic Games since the country became independent in 1980; it had previously competed as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe was absent from the Games in 1988 and 1992, returning in 1996 with a two-man delegation, and has competed at every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then. It has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics. [1]
Zimbabweans have won a total of 2 gold medals, 9 silver, and 6 bronze. The country's most successful year, by far, was 1980, when Zimbabweans won 8 silver medals and 4 bronze - all but two won by Sandra James and Eileen Robertson, across events in several sports. Zimbabwe's first gold medal was won by Elliot Mujaji in 2000, in the 100m sprint (T46 category). Mujaji won Zimbabwe's second (and most recent) Paralympic gold medal in the same event four years later. [2] Zimbabwe have since failed to win any medals after 2004.
The Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee was only officially launched and registered in 2010. Prior to this, "the government provided financial aid during the Paralympic Games, [but] there was no co-ordinated mechanism to maintain athletes' momentum between the Games", and athletes "had to find their own sponsor, coach and manager who would finance the training, travelling and their participation at competitions". [3]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 Arnhem | 0 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
1984 Stoke Mandeville | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
1996 Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2000 Sydney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2004 Athens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2008 Beijing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2012 London | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 Rio de Janeiro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals (8 games) | 2 | 9 | 6 | 17 |
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.
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.
An all-time medal table for all Paralympic Games from 1960 to 2018. The International Paralympic Committee does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IPC database.
Zimbabwe competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. The country's delegation consisted of two track and field athletes, Elliot Mujaji and Molene Muza. Mujaji is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, having won the 100 metre T46 event in 2000 and 2004, while Muza competed in the Paralympic Games for the first time. In the days leading up to the games, the pair trained at the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo under coach Remigio Mumbire, however a lack of money threatened to cut the training camp short. The group planned to leave for Beijing on 28 August and arrive two days later.
Australia has participated officially in every Paralympic Games since its inauguration in 1960 except for the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
The United Arab Emirates started actively participating in the Paralympic community during the 1990s. They made their debut at the 1992 Summer Paralympics. Since that time, they have won several Paralympic medals. The country had their debut on the international Paralympic stage at the 1990 Stoke Mandeville Games. Some of the country's Paralympic competitors are internationally ranked. The United Arab Emirates have competed at several other Paralympic events including the Arab Paralympic Games, Asian Paralympic Games, IWAS World Games, Stoke Mandeville Games, and World Semi-Olympic Championship. The United Arab Emirates Paralympic Committee is the national organisation, gaining its International Paralympic Committee recognition in 1995 and have subsequently made winning medals and hosting events a priority.
Rhodesia was one of the participants at the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where one of its two representatives was Margaret Harriman, in swimming and archery. The country took part in every edition of the Summer Paralympics until 1972. Although Rhodesia was barred from all Olympics from 1968 until its disestablishment in 1979 after its 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom, it was allowed to participate in the 1968 Tel Aviv and 1972 Heidelberg games because politicians, both from Britain and the host nations of the games, were unwilling to sanction athletes with disabilities. However, the Canadian government refused to grant visas for the Rhodesian Paralympic team to attend the 1976 Toronto Paralympics.
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 dominion 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.
Sandra James is a Zimbabwean former athlete, who won eleven medals across four different sports at the Paralympic Games.
Brazil made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, sending representatives to compete in track and field, archery, swimming and wheelchair basketball. The country has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since.
Denmark made its Paralympic Games début at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv with a delegation of eight competitors, in swimming and table tennis. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, and in every edition of the Winter Games since 1980.
Germany (GER) participated in the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where it sent a delegation of nine athletes. The country, since 1949 officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), was until 1990 also called West Germany while the separate East German Democratic Republic (GDR) existed, which was recognized by the IOC only after 1964. East German athletes, however, participated in the Paralympics for the first and last time in 1984. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, athletes from all of Germany compete simply as Germany (GER) again.
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.
Norway has participated in every edition of both the Summer and Winter Paralympics, except the second Summer Games in 1964. It was one of the seventeen countries to take part in the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where it sent a delegation of eleven athletes. Norway was the host country of both the 1980 Winter Paralympics, in Geilo, and the 1994 Winter Paralympics, in Lillehammer.
Switzerland made its Paralympic Games début at the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, and has participated in every edition of the Summer Paralympics. It also took part in the inaugural Winter Paralympics in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, and has competed in every edition of the Winter Games.
Ukraine made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, with thirty athletes competing in archery, track and field, powerlifting, swimming, and sitting volleyball. Vasyl Lishchynskyy won Ukraine's first Paralympic gold medal, in the shot put, and Ukrainians also won four silver medals and two bronze. Ukrainians had previously participated within the Soviet Union's delegation in 1988, and as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Ukraine, following its independence from the Soviet Union, missed out on the 1994 Winter Games, but made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Ukraine has competed at every edition of the Summer and Winter Games since then and have done so with remarkable success.
Czechoslovakia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, where it was one of just four Eastern Bloc nations competing. Czechoslovakia sent a delegation of nineteen athletes, who all competed in track and field, and won a single bronze medal in the shot put.
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.
Rhodesia competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from 4 to 13 November 1968. The team ranked eleventh out of the twenty-eight competing nations in the medal table and won a total of twenty medals; six gold, seven silver and seven bronze. Rhodesia competed at the Paralympics in 1968 and in 1972 despite being excluded from the Summer Olympic Games in those years.
The 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games, later known as the 1964 Summer Paralympics, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from November 3 to 12, 1964, in which paraplegic and tetraplegic athletes competed against one another. The Stoke Mandeville Games were a forerunner to the Paralympics first organized by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in 1948. This medal table ranks the competing National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.