Japan at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Encyclopedia
Japan competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
in Tel Aviv
, Israel
from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished sixteenth of the twenty-eight competing nations in the medal table
and won a total of twelve medals; two gold, two silver and eight bronze. Forty-eight Japanese athletes took part in the Games; forty-one men and seven women.
, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy
; wheelchair
athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment
, including blindness
; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism
or multiple sclerosis
. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent on the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing.
format. Japan was represented by Tanaka and T. Matsumoto; the pair beat athletes from Canada
, Belgium
and Switzerland
to set up a semi-final meeting with Geissinger and Kelderhouse of the United States
. The Americans won the match and went on to win the gold medal, Tanaka and Matsumoto were awarded bronze medals.
, but was awarded the bronze medal.
division. Nagumo won the bronze medal with a lift of 110 kg, Mayazawa finished fifth and Kojima seventh with lifts of 107.5 kg and 100 kg respectively.
1968 Summer Paralympics
The 1968 Summer Paralympics were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation , they were known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished sixteenth of the twenty-eight competing nations in the medal table
1968 Summer Paralympics medal table
The 1968 Summer Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held in Tel Aviv, Israel, from November 4 to 13, 1968, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another...
and won a total of twelve medals; two gold, two silver and eight bronze. Forty-eight Japanese athletes took part in the Games; forty-one men and seven women.
Disability classifications
The Paralympics groups athletes' disabilities into one of five disability categories; amputationAmputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
; wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
, including blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
or multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent on the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing.
Athletics
Eight of Japan's medals were won in athletics events. All three medals in the men's slalom C were won by Japanese athletes; Furukawa won gold, Erkawa won silver and the bronze went to Tsuchiya. Bronze medals were also won by Sakonju, in both the men's A slalom and novices 60 m wheelchair dash A, Suga in the men's B slalom and Miyazawa in the men's 100 m wheelchair C race. The only athletics medal won by a Japanese woman at the Games was a silver for Apai in the women's C slalom.Dartchery
The only dartchery event at the Games was the mixed pairs event which had a knockout tournamentSingle-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
format. Japan was represented by Tanaka and T. Matsumoto; the pair beat athletes from Canada
Canada at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Canada competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished twelfth in the medal table and won a total of nineteenth medals; six gold, six silver and seven bronze. The Canadian team contained twenty-five athletes; eighteen men and seven...
, Belgium
Belgium at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Belgium competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished twentieth in the medal table and won a total of six medals; three silver and three bronze.-References:...
and Switzerland
Switzerland at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
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.-References:...
to set up a semi-final meeting with Geissinger and Kelderhouse of the United States
United States at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
The United States competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished first out of the twenty-eight competing nations in the medal table and won ninety-nine medals: thirty-three gold, twenty-seven silver and thirty-nine bronze...
. The Americans won the match and went on to win the gold medal, Tanaka and Matsumoto were awarded bronze medals.
Swimming
Six members of the Japanese delegation competed in swimming events and two won medals. Koyachi won the gold medal in the men's 50 metres freestyle class 4 incomplete, beating his nearest rival in the final by 2.4 seconds. In the men's 50 m freestyle class 4 complete Japan's Arimura finished with the same time as silver medalist, Lewis of South AfricaSouth Africa at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
South Africa was one of twenty-eight nations that sent athletes to compete at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished tenth in the medal table and won a total of twenty-six medals; nine gold, ten silver and seven bronze...
, but was awarded the bronze medal.
Weightlifting
Three men entered weightlifting events for Japan, all in the featherweightFeatherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
division. Nagumo won the bronze medal with a lift of 110 kg, Mayazawa finished fifth and Kojima seventh with lifts of 107.5 kg and 100 kg respectively.