US OLYMPIC CITIES

New York 1984 Paralympic Games

Associated Press photo/Ira Schwarz

President Ronald Reagan hands the Paralympic Torch to swimmer Jan Wilson for the final leg of its journey to Long Island.

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The seventh Paralympic Games (then known as the International Games for the Disabled) were held in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, and on Long Island in New York. Wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries competed in the U.K.; amputee athletes, cerebral palsy athletes and visually impaired athletes competed in New York. American Marcia Bevard won six gold medals in swimming.

Paralympic Highlights

  • Nations: 45
  • Athletes: 2,105 (1,569 men, 536 women)
  • Disciplines: 18
  • Medal Count: United States 397 (137 gold, 131 silver, 129 bronze); Great Britain 331 (107 gold, 112 silver, 112 bronze); Canada 238 (87 gold, 82 silver, 69 bronze)
  • New Sports: women’s bobsled, skeleton (first time since 1948)
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