Wheelchair Basketball at the First Paralympics
September 1960. Rome 1960, then the women's debut in Tel Aviv 1968
Wheelchair basketball grew out of rehabilitation programs for injured soldiers after World War II, in both the United States and Great Britain. By 1960 it was ready for the biggest stage.
At the first Paralympic Games, in Rome in 1960, wheelchair basketball was one of the original sports. The United States won gold in both men's events, with Great Britain, the Netherlands and Israel also winning medals.
Women's wheelchair basketball joined the Paralympics in Tel Aviv in 1968. The home team, Israel, won the first gold, ahead of Argentina and the United States. Today wheelchair basketball is one of the most watched Paralympic sports and is played all over the world.
What changed
Wheelchair basketball kept the full-size court and the 10-foot basket, but added its own rules for pushing and dribbling. It proved that the core of basketball, spacing, screening and passing, works for every athlete.