1980 Summer Paralympics

VI Paralympic Games

Host city	Arnhem, Netherlands
Nations participating	42
Athletes participating	1,973
Events	489 in 12 sports
Opening ceremony	June 21
Closing ceremony	June 30
Officially opened by	Princess Margriet
Main venue	National Sports Centre Papendal
Summer:
<  Toronto 1976 Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984  >
Winter:
<  Geilo 1980 Innsbruck 1984  >

The 1980 Summer Paralympics (branded as the Olympics for the Disabled) (Dutch: Paralympische Zomerspelen 1980) were the sixth Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.

Background

The Soviet Union, hosts of the 1980 Summer Olympics, were invited to host these Paralympics. However, disability sport was not yet well-developed there, and they passed; notoriously, a statement was issued denying the existence of any "invalids" there.^[1] Soviet Paralympic teams were first represented in the 1988 Summer and Winter Games, the last while the Soviet Union was extant. The first Paralympics on former Soviet territory would be in 2014.^[2]

There was controversy during the preparation for these Games over the inclusion of a team from South Africa. In the Netherlands, public and official opinion was against the inclusion of the South African team and pressure came from a number of sports organisations against the Organising Committee. The Dutch Parliament was negative as well. Eventually, the parliament decided against allowing the participation of the South African team. Although "much of the publicity relating to the South African participation had been negative, it did succeed in bringing the disabled sports movement into the minds of many people who would not have otherwise considered the subject at all. Dutch organisers also increased visibility through their fundraising ... building a fund that would hold a surplus years after the games. This would naturally find its expression in the International Fund Sport Disabled, supporting the future of the paralympic movement in the 1980s."^[3]

Sports

Competitors were divided into four disability categories: amputee, cerebral palsy, visually impaired, and wheelchair. It was the first time that cerebral palsy athletes competed in the Paralympics. Volleyball was added to the program as a new sport.^[4]

Participating delegations

Forty-three delegations took part in the Arnhem Paralympics.^[5]

Prior to the Games, the States General (national Parliament) of the Netherlands, as host country, adopted a motion declaring South Africa's participation "undesirable", due to its policy of apartheid. The 1980 Games thus marked South Africa's first absence from the Summer Paralympics since it had joined the movement in 1964, and it remained absent until 1992. The United States and other countries boycotted the Olympics because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan but they did not boycott the Paralympics. The Netherlands' decision thus corrected the anomaly whereby South Africa had been banned from the Olympic movement since 1960, while still being authorised to take part in the Paralympic Games.^[6][7]

Medal table

The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation, Netherlands, is highlighted.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	75	66	54	195
2	Poland	75	50	52	177
3	West Germany	67	48	46	161
4	Canada	64	35	31	130
5	Great Britain	47	32	21	100
6	Netherlands	33	31	36	100
7	Sweden	31	36	24	91
8	France	28	26	31	85
9	Mexico	20	16	6	42
10	Norway	15	13	8	36

See also

• 1980 Summer Olympics
• 1980 Winter Paralympics

References

External links

• International Paralympic Committee

Paralympic Games
Charter Host cities IPC NPCs Medal tables Medalists Participating Nations Sports Symbols
Summer Games	Rome 1960 Tokyo 1964 Tel Aviv 1968 Heidelberg 1972 Toronto 1976 Arnhem 1980 New York/Stoke Mandeville 1984 Seoul 1988 Barcelona/Madrid 1992 Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000 Athens 2004 Beijing 2008 London 2012 Rio de Janeiro 2016 Tokyo 2020 Paris 2024 Los Angeles 2028
Winter Games	Örnsköldsvik 1976 Geilo 1980 Innsbruck 1984 Innsbruck 1988 Tignes/Albertville 1992 Lillehammer 1994 Nagano 1998 Salt Lake City 2002 Turin 2006 Vancouver 2010 Sochi 2014 Pyeongchang 2018 Beijing 2022
Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games Ancient Olympic Games