Zimbabwe at the Paralympics

Zimbabwe has been competing at the Paralympic Games since the country became independent in 1980; it had previously competed as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe was absent from the Games in 1988 and 1992, returning in 1996 with a two-man delegation, and has competed at every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then. It has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics.[1]

Zimbabwe at the
Paralympics
IPC codeZIM
NPCZimbabwe National Paralympic Committee
Medals
Gold
2
Silver
9
Bronze
6
Total
17
Summer appearances

Zimbabweans have won a total of 2 gold medals, 9 silver, and 6 bronze. The country's most successful year, by far, was 1980, when Zimbabweans won 8 silver medals and 4 bronze - all but two won by Sandra James and Eileen Robertson, across events in several sports. Zimbabwe's first gold medal was won by Elliot Mujaji in 2000, in the 100m sprint (T46 category). Mujaji won Zimbabwe's second (and most recent) Paralympic gold medal in the same event four years later.[2] Zimbabwe have since failed to win any medals after 2004.

The Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee was only officially launched and registered in 2010. Prior to this, "the government provided financial aid during the Paralympic Games, [but] there was no co-ordinated mechanism to maintain athletes' momentum between the Games", and athletes "had to find their own sponsor, coach and manager who would finance the training, travelling and their participation at competitions".[3]

Medals by Summer Games

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GamesGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1980 Arnhem08412
1984 Stoke Mandeville0123
1996 Atlanta0000
2000 Sydney1001
2004 Athens1001
2008 Beijing0000
2012 London0000
2016 Rio de Janeiro0000
2020 Tokyo0000
Totals (9 entries)29617
Source: [4]

Medalists

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Medal Name Games Sport Event
  Silver Sandra James   1980 Arnhem Athletics Women's club throw 1A
  Silver Sandra James   1980 Arnhem Athletics Women's discus throw 1A
  Silver Mary Dube   1980 Arnhem Athletics Women's javelin throw 3
  Silver Sandra James
Eileen Robertson
  1980 Arnhem Lawn bowls Women's pairs 1A-1B
  Silver Sandra James   1980 Arnhem Swimming Women's 25m breaststroke 1A
  Silver Eileen Robertson   1980 Arnhem Swimming Women's 25m breaststroke 1B
  Silver Sandra James   1980 Arnhem Table tennis Women's singles 1A
  Bronze Eileen Robertson   1980 Arnhem Lawn bowls Women's singles 1A-1B
  Bronze Andrew James Scott   1980 Arnhem Swimming Men's 50m backstroke 3
  Bronze Eileen Robertson   1980 Arnhem Swimming Women's 25m backstroke 1B
  Silver Eddie van der Heiden     1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York Lawn bowls Men's singles A2/4
  Bronze M. Ndlovu     1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York Athletics Women's discus throw 5
  Bronze R. Mukuya     1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York Athletics Women's javelin throw 1B
  Gold Elliot Mujaji   2000 Sydney Athletics Men's 100m T46
  Gold Elliot Mujaji   2004 Athens Athletics Men's 100m T46

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Zimbabwe at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  2. ^ Zimbabwe at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  3. ^ "About us: History" Archived 22 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee
  4. ^ "Zimbabwe Summer Paralympics". Retrieved 4 September 2012.