Australia at the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics
As was the case four years earlier, Australian athletes at the 1964 Tokyo Games were unable to specialise in a given discipline and the athletes were still required to compete in a number of different events. The roles of the support staff, however, became increasingly specialised and demarcated. The number of support staff had doubled since Rome, from four to eight. Staff had defined roles: team leader and medical officer, manager, nurse, attendants, coaches, and a baggage master. The extra support was evidence of the increased recognition and status of disability sport, both within Australia and around the world.
Performance:
This recognition was not lost on the athletes, who responded with some excellent performances in Tokyo. Australian athletes won medals in over half of the events including archery, athletics, fencing, swimming, table tennis and weight lifting. Australians built on the strong Australian history of swimming with nine gold medals coming from the pool, including three from Elizabeth Edmondson, the youngest competitor at 14 years and 4 months. Australia finished fourth on the medal table, with a total of thirty medals, including twelve gold.
Fifteen Australian athletes and eight support staff travelled to Tokyo for the 1964 Summer Paralympics.
Date: November 1964
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