1968 Summer Paralympics
The 1968 Summer Paralympics were the third Paralympic Games. They took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, from 4 to 13 November 1968. About 750 athletes from 29 nations competed in 181 events across 10 sports.
The opening ceremony was at the Hebrew University Stadium in Jerusalem, and the events were held mainly in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District, at the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled. The closing ceremony was at the Tel Aviv Trade Center. These games were the first Paralympics not to be held alongside the Olympic Games.
Lawn bowls was included for the first time. In wheelchair basketball, a women’s team event was added, and there was a 100-meter wheelchair race for men in athletics.
Nations participating included Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Korea and Spain for the first time. South Africa, which had competed in 1964, continued to participate despite being banned from the Olympic Games for apartheid at that time. The host nation was Israel.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:40 (CET).