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. Eighty-two American athletes took part; fifty-three men and twenty-nine women.
Ed Owen won medals in six different sports; nine golds and a bronze in athletics, two golds in swimming and a silver in wheelchair basketball.

Disability classifications

The Paralympics groups athletes' disabilities into one of five disability categories; amputation, 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 upon 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.

Medalists

The following United States athletes won medals at the Games;
MedalNameSportEvent
ArballoArcheryMen's St. Nicholas round paraplegic
Classon
Reno Levis
O'Donnell		ArcheryMen's Columbia round team open
Geissinger
Kelderhouse
Klemens		ArcheryMen's Albion round team open
Branum
Chess
Gary Odorowski
Roman		AthleticsMen's 4x40 m relay open

C. Giesse
Keyser
Stratman		AthleticsWomen's 4x40 m relay open
AthleticsWomen's 60 m wheelchair A
AthleticsWomen's slalom A
AthleticsWomen's javelin throw B
KirnAthleticsWomen's javelin throw A
KirnAthleticsWomen's shot put A
AthleticsMen's 100 m wheelchair C
AthleticsMen's club throw special class
AthleticsMen's discus throw special class
AthleticsMen's pentathlon special class
AthleticsMen's shot put special class
RomanAthleticsMen's Novices 60 m wheelchair Dash C
AthleticsMen's club throw C
AthleticsMen's pentathlon incomplete
AthleticsMen's javelin throw B
Geissinger
Kelderhouse		DartcheryMixed Pairs open
AilesSwimmingWomen's 50 m breaststroke class 4 complete
AilesSwimmingWomen's 50 m freestyle class 4 complete
BranumSwimmingMen's 100 m freestyle open
ChryslerSwimmingMen's 50 m backstroke class 3 complete
ChryslerSwimmingMen's 50 m freestyle class 3 complete
CraseSwimmingMen's 25 m breaststroke class 1 complete
FoustSwimmingMen's 50 m freestyle class 4 complete
GormanSwimmingWomen's 25 m breaststroke class 1 complete
KaminskiSwimmingWomen's 50 m backstroke class 4 complete
MooreSwimmingWomen's 25 m freestyle class 1 complete
SwimmingMen's 100 m breaststroke open
SwimmingMen's 50 m breaststroke special class
Dunn
McNichol		Table tennisMen's doubles A1
ArcheryMen's Columbia round open
SoulekArcheryWomen's Columbia round open
WebbArcheryWomen's Albion round open
BranumAthleticsMen's 100 m wheelchair C
BranumAthleticsMen's pentathlon special class
CameronAthleticsMen's javelin throw special class
DemorestAthleticsMen's discus throw special class
GianinoAthleticsMen's slalom cervical class
GurmanAthleticsWomen's slalom cervical class
KeyserAthleticsWomen's 60 m wheelchair C
KirnAthleticsWomen's 60 m wheelchair A
AthleticsMen's discus throw C
AthleticsMen's 100 m wheelchair B
AthleticsMen's club throw B

Woods		Lawn bowlsWomen's Pairs
SoulekLawn bowlsWomen's singles
BranumSwimmingMen's 50 m backstroke special class
CornettSwimmingWomen's 25 m freestyle class 2 complete
CraseSwimmingMen's 25 m freestyle class 1 complete
GormanSwimmingWomen's 25 m backstroke class 1 complete
GormanSwimmingWomen's 25 m freestyle class 1 complete
MooreSwimmingWomen's 25 m breaststroke class 1 complete
MooreSwimmingWomen's 25 m freestyle class 2 incomplete
PollockSwimmingMen's 50 m freestyle class 4 incomplete
SoulekSwimmingWomen's 25 m backstroke class 2 complete
VincentSwimmingMen's 25 m backstroke class 2 complete
Wheelchair basketballMen
CornettArcheryWomen's Columbia round open
Geissinger
Kelderhouse
Klemens		ArcheryMen's FITA round team open
KlemensArcheryMen's Albion round open
MooreArcheryWomen's St. Nicholas round paraplegic
WebbArcheryWomen's FITA round open
ArballoAthleticsMen's discus throw C
BindleyAthleticsWomen's discus throw B
CameronAthleticsMen's club throw special class
ChryslerAthleticsMen's shot put C
CornettAthleticsWomen's 60 m wheelchair A
CornettAthleticsWomen's pentathlon complete
CornettAthleticsWomen's slalom A
DunnAthleticsMen's slalom cervical class
FeltesAthleticsMen's Novices 60 m wheelchair Dash C
AthleticsWomen's Precision javelin throw open
AthleticsWomen's shot put B
KirnAthleticsWomen's club throw A
KirnAthleticsWomen's discus throw A
AthleticsMen's javelin throw C
AthleticsMen's Precision javelin throw open
AthleticsMen's javelin throw special class
Lawn bowlsWomen's singles
LionettiLawn bowlsMen's singles

Vincent		Lawn bowlsMen's Pairs
SwimmingMen's 3x50 m medley relay open
BranumSwimmingMen's 3x25 m individual medley open
CornettSwimmingWomen's 25 m breaststroke class 2 complete
DunnSwimmingMen's 25 m backstroke class 1 complete
FiorelloSwimmingMen's 50 m backstroke class 3 incomplete
StratmanSwimmingWomen's 50 m backstroke class 5
VincentSwimmingMen's 25 m breaststroke class 2 complete
VincentSwimmingMen's 25 m freestyle class 2 complete
Crase
Donaldson		Table tennisMen's doubles A1
Gorman
Moore		Table tennisWomen's doubles A2
McNicholTable tennisMen's singles A1
MooreTable tennisWomen's singles A1
JensenWeightliftingMen's Middleweight
RossiniWeightliftingMen's Heavyweight
Wheelchair basketballWomen

Dartchery

The only dartchery event at the Games was the mixed pairs event which took a knockout format. The United States was represented by Geissinger and Kelderhouse; the pair beat athletes from Jamaica, Italy and Australia to set up a semi-final meeting with Tanaka and Matsumoto of Japan. The Americans won the match and went on to defeat a second Australian pair in the final round to win the gold medal.

Wheelchair basketball

America entered teams in both the men's and women's wheelchair basketball events and won medals in each. The women's event took the form of a single pool stage with medals awarded to the top three teams. The USA team won two matches and lost two matches, scoring 31 points and conceding 30, to finish in third place and take the bronze medal. The men's event featured a pool stage followed by a knockout competition. The USA men beat Great Britain and the Switzerland and Germany to advance to the quarterfinals. They then beat Argentina and Great Britain again to reach the gold medal match. Facing the hosts Israel, USA lost 47–37 and had to settle for the silver medals.