At the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Mexican observers were present with the purpose of staging the Games together with the IXX Olympic Games in Mexico City. There was some surprise when two years prior to the 1968 event, the Mexican government backed out of the commitment to host the Paralympics because of technical difficulties.
Wanting to keep the tradition going, Sir Ludwig Guttmann accepted the invitation of the Israeli government and the ILAN Society (an Israeli organization for individuals with physical disabilities) to host the 1968 International Stoke Mandeville Games at Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv. Israel's offer to host the Games was motivated by its wish to mark its 20th anniversary of independence.
The Opening Ceremony on 4 November was held at the Hebrew University stadium in Jerusalem, before a crowd of more than 10,000. The Games were declared open by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Yigal Allon. A total of 750 athletes from 29 countries participated.
Under the direction of Gershon Huberman, the sports programme had enlarged considerably compared with the 1964 program in Tokyo. New events such as Lawn Bowls, women's Basketball and the 100m wheelchair race for men were introduced. Changes were also introduced in the classification systems for Athletics, Basketball and Swimming. Nine events were on the sports programme: Athletics (track and field events including Discus, Shot Put, Javelin and Club Throw), Basketball, Dart Archery, Fencing, Lawn Bowls, Snooker, Swimming, Table Tennis and Weightlifting.
Roberto Marson of Italy, then 25, was proclaimed outstanding athlete of the Games. After having won two gold medals in field events at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Marson had worked diligently to broaden his athletic participation to Swimming and Fencing. He won nine gold medals this time—three in field events, three in swimming and three in fencing. Another outstanding athlete was Lorraine Dodd, 24, from Australia. She set three Swimming records in her class, all on the same day. Ed Owen, 20, of the USA, turned in a harvest of medals—two golds in Athletics, a gold for the Pentathlon, two golds in Swimming, a silver in Basketball, and a bronze in Javelin.
Men's Basketball saw an exciting and much-awaited final. After a close fight, Israel beat the US 47-37, under the excellent leadership of captain Baruch Hagai. The US eventually topped the medal table, with 30 golds, followed by Britain's 27 and Israel's 15.
The Closing Ceremony on 13 November was held at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds and attended by Deputy Prime Minister Allon. The 1968 Games were a success, with 20 records set within the 181 events held.
(Credit: IPC. Click here for further information.)