Heidelberg 1972
The 1972 Paralympics was not held in the same city as the Summer Olympics. The International Stoke Mandeville Games Committee had planned that the German Disabled Sports Association (DVS) would stage the Games in Munich following the Olympic Games. But after the Summer Olympics, the Olympic village was to be closed and converted into private apartments. The DVS tried unsuccessfully to arrange for suitable accommodation in Munich for the expected 1,000 athletes.
The city of Heidelberg stepped in and invited the organizers to stage the Games at the University’s Institute for Physical Training. To run the Games, the oganizing committee and the DVS sourced for funds from the German ministries of Labor and Interior, the National Olympic Committee, and from the government of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Dr. Gustav Heineman, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, was the patron of the Games and officiated at the Opening Ceremony on 2 August. Some 1,004 athletes from 41 countries took part. The German contingent was the largest with 80 competitors, followed by Great Britain and France.
The 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg also saw the inclusion of different disability groups and exhibition events such as Goalball and the 100m for the blind and visually impaired. In the seven days of competition, several new records were set, mostly in Swimming, where electronic touch pads were used for the first time. Van der Bender from the Netherlands set a new record in the 100m Freestyle in 1:12.40 minutes.
Other noteworthy performances—Reimer of Canada set a world record in Discus with a throw of 29.91m and Zipora Rubin of Israel set a world record in Javelin with 18.5m. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball was another highlight. A capacity crowd of 4,000 watched as the United States squeezed out defending champions Israel 59:58 to take the gold.
At the post-Games meeting, coaches and trainers discussed the need to develop and refine the sports rules for each event, and decided to create sub-committees for each sport in the International Stoke Mandeville Games. Previously, rules were set by a technical committee, which had finite knowledge of the aspects. The creation of the sub-committees led to more self-determination in the movement, especially in the development of wheelchair sports.
Heidelberg will also be remembered for the richness of social and cultural activities during the Games. It was here that the idea of a "Beer Tent" for all participants was started. The Beer Tent, a big marquee set up at the Rehabilitation Center, became a focal point for informal evening entertainment, and this tradition was to follow in future annual International Stoke Mandeville Games and the Paralympics of 1976, 1980 and 1984.
