Rhodesia at the Paralympics

Rhodesia at the
Paralympics
IPC codeRHO
Medals
Gold
21
Silver
18
Bronze
15
Total
54
Summer appearances

Rhodesia was one of the participants at the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where one of its two representatives was Margaret Harriman, in swimming and archery.[1] The country took part in every edition of the Summer Paralympics until 1972. Although Rhodesia was barred from all Olympics from 1968 until its disestablishment in 1979 after its 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom, it was allowed to participate in the 1968 Tel Aviv and 1972 Heidelberg games because politicians, both from Britain and the host nations of the games, were unwilling to sanction athletes with disabilities.[1] However, the Canadian government refused to grant visas for the Rhodesian Paralympic team to attend the 1976 Toronto Paralympics.[1]

Rhodesia ceased to exist before the 1980 Summer Paralympics, in which its successor state, Zimbabwe, competed.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Little, Cliff (2008). "The Paralympic Protest Paradox: The Politics of Rhodesian Participation in the Paralympic Games, 1960–1980" (PDF). Pathways: Critiques and Discourse in Olympic Research: 123–131. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  2. ^ Zimbabwe at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee