The Paralympics for physically disabled athletes which run parallel to the Olympic Games, have, in past years, been a source of pride for Israel, with the Paralympic team winning more medals than the Israeli Olympic athletes.
The Paralympics were created by Ludwig Guttman, a German Jewish doctor who fled the Nazis. He pioneered treatment techniques for paralyzed British soldiers in World War II, using sports to keep patients active.
Israel's delegation to the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games numbers 24 athletes, competing in table tennis, cycling, horseriding, swimming, shooting, sailing, archery, athletics, and wheelchair tennis. The team more than doubled the total of six medals won in Sydney four years ago, taking 13 medals: 4 gold, 4 silver, and 5 bronze.
In swimming, Izhak Mamistvalov, 25, set two new Paralympic records, winning gold medals in the 100m and 50m freestyle (S1 category) events. Mamistvalov, who was born with cerebral palsy, swims using only his right hand, and is the most severely disabled athlete on the Israeli team. He also took the silver medal in the 200m freestyle (S2), competing against swimmers with a lower degree of disability.
Israel's three-time gold medalist Keren Leibowitz at Sydney 2000, this time took a gold medal in the 100m backstroke (S8), an event in which she holds the world record. She also took silver medals in the women's 100m and 50m freestyle events and a bronze in the 200m individual medley.
Also in the pool, Inbal Pezaro, 17, won the silver medal in the 100m breastroke (S4) and bronze in the 200m freestyle (S5). Suffering from a spinal disorder from birth, Inbal is confined to a wheelchair. She started swimming for rehabilitation purposes when she was three and fell in love with it. Nimrod Zviran took the bronze medal in the men's 400m freestyle (S7).
Emulating Gal Fridman, who won Israel's first ever Olympic gold medal at Athens in sailing, Dror Cohen, Aaron Efrati and Benni Vexler took the gold in the mixed Sonar event.
Gal Fridman congratulated the three: "The impressive achievement of the three disabled sailors is important for Israel. Their victory proves that desire overcomes all obstacles and that rehabilitation through sport is the right approach."
Doron Shaziri, coached by Olympic shooter Guy Starik, took bronze medals in the men's free rifle 3x40 and the mixed free rifle prone competitions. Doron started sport shooting when he was 10, and later was a sniper in the army until losing a leg in Lebanon in 1987, while on an Israeli army patrol. He stepped on a mine while carrying a wounded soldier on a stretcher. Father of two, he makes sports wheelchairs for a living.
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President Moshe Katzav congratulated the Israeli athletes who won medals: "You have honored all Israeli citizens, and mainly yourselves. You have proved that with hard work, determination and persistence one can overcome difficult physical and motor limitations. You deserve to serve as an example to us all."
On Monday, September 27, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon telephoned the Israeli delegation to the Athens Paralympics. He thanked the athletes for their impressive achievements in the competitions, commended them for their courage and determination, and thanked them on behalf of the entire Israeli nation. Prime Minister Sharon also thanked the delegation heads and coaches for their important part.
Prime Minister Sharon promised that the government would increase the budget for handicapped sports, and said that he is convinced that their impressive achievements are not one-time and that Israeli athletes will be similarly successful at future Paralympics.
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The Israel Sports Association for the Disabled (ISAD) conducts a wide range of all-year-round activities in disabled sports, including basketball, tennis, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, shooting, riding, archery, swimming, blind goalball, and sailing.