Australia competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Games significantly expanded in 1968 when compared to previous years, as did the Australian team and the events included in the Games. Mexico City were originally to host the 1968 Paralympics, however, they were moved to Tel Aviv in Israel.
Although there was disappointment expressed at not being able to have to Paralympics in the 'Olympic' city of that year, the Tel Aviv organising committee worked hard to provide a positive experience for the athletes and their support staff. The Australian team however had to be content with dubious living conditions for the duration of the competition, being housed in an underground car park. Despite the poor accommodation the athletes performed well, with world records falling and numerous Australian competitors taking home a swag of gold medals (see 'Medalists' table below). Australian's haul of 38 medals earned them fourth spot on the 'unofficial' placing.
Background
The Paralympic Games
Sir Ludwig Guttman was a German and Jewish neurologist who worked with the disabled in the national spinal injuries center called the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Sport for the disabled was involved in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients as it was believed to provide a physiological and psychological therapy. Guttman organised a competition with Archery and Javelin called the Stoke Mandeville Games that began on 28 July in 1948, the same day as the opening of the 1948 Olympic Games in London, with the hope it would one day become the Olympic Games for the disabled. This competition became international in 1952 when athletes from Holland participated and continued to grow. Sir Ludwig Guttman visited the Melville Rehabilitation Centre and invited Australian athletes to compete in the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1957. The 1960 Stoke Mandeville Games in Rome have been officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the first Summer Paralympic Games and Guttman went down in history as the man who connected rehabilitation to competitive sport and created the Paralympic Games.
1968 Tel Aviv Paralympic Games
The 1968 Paralympic Games were held in Tel Aviv from 4 to 13 November, in and around the ILAN Sports Centre. The four other locations that were used were the Hayarkon Souts Club, Ramat Gan Stadium and the Ramat Gan Bowling Club. The logo of the 1968 Games represents three interlocking wheelchair wheels that were used by the Stoke Mandeville Games at the time and represent the ideals of the Games which are friendship, unity and sportsmanship. ISMG 1968 stands for International Stoke Mandeville Games 1968, which was the name of the Games before they were labelled the Paralympics. The length of the 1968 Pralympics was longer than that of the Paralympics prior in both Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964.
The Paralympic games expanded in 1968 compared to previous years as the participating nations increased by seven to include Canada, Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, Korea, New Zealand and Spain in their first Paralympics in Tel Aviv. The Games saw an increase in sports with the addition of Lawn Bowls and an increase in the number of events from 144 to 188 with changes in classifications and Women's Basketball and the Men's 100m Sprint were added. The 1968 Paralympics saw a large increase in participation in that there were 378 in Tokyo and 750 athletes in Tel Aviv. The only type of disability included in Tel Aviv was spinal cord injuries, other disabilities were not added until 1976. At this time, the wheelchairs used by the Australian athletes were multipurpose and few had changes to them from the generic everyday wheelchair that increased stability or maneuverability to specialise them for sport. There were also restrictions in that athletes could not use straps to secure them to the wheelchair and rules were provided for cushion and wheelchair height to create and even playing field among the athletes. While the 1968 Paralympics in Tel Aviv were not as developed and professional as they are in the present day, Australian paraplegic athletes involved have largely discussed the high competitiveness of making the Australian team and the Tel Aviv Games themselves.