Rhodesia at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Rhodesia at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Flag of Rhodesia
IPC code	RHO
in Heidelberg
Competitors	13 in 2 sports
Medals Ranked 17th	Gold 3 Silver 5 Bronze 4 Total 12
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988–1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Rhodesia competed at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, West Germany. It was the last time the nation competed at the Paralympic Games before returning as Zimbabwe at the 1980 Summer Paralympics. The delegation consisted of 13 competitors in the sports of track and field athletics and swimming. Three athletes (Avril Davis, Sandra James, and Leslie Manson-Bishop) competed in both sports.^[1]

Rhodesia had also been invited to take part in the 1972 Summer Olympics, but the invitation was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' protests against the Rhodesian regime. As the Paralympics that year were held before the Olympics, Rhodesia was able to take part in the Paralympic Games.^[2][3]

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	Sandra James	Athletics	Women's javelin throw 1A
Gold	Sandra James	Swimming	Women's 25 m freestyle 1A
Gold	Andrew James Scott	Swimming	Men's 3×25 m individual medley 4
Silver	Sandra James	Athletics	Women's shot put 1A
Silver	Sandra James	Swimming	Women's 25 m breaststroke 1A
Silver	Eileen Robertson	Swimming	Women's 25 m breaststroke 1B
Silver	Eileen Robertson	Swimming	Women's 25 m freestyle 1B
Silver	Andrew James Scott	Swimming	Men's 50 m backstroke 4
Bronze	Sandra James	Athletics	Women's discus throw 1A
Bronze	Kevin English	Swimming	Men's 100 m backstroke 5
Bronze	David Holland	Swimming	Men's 25 m freestyle 1B
Bronze	Andrew James Scott	Swimming	Men's 50 m breaststroke 4

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Athlete	Event	Result	Rank
Avril Davis	Women's discus throw 5	13.83	7
Avril Davis	Women's javelin throw 5	10.72	8
Avril Davis	Women's shot put 5	5.15	8
Sandra James	Women's discus throw 1A	6.00
Sandra James	Women's javelin throw 1A	5.22
Sandra James	Women's shot put 1A	1.96
Leslie Manson-Bishop	Men's discus throw 4	22.95	10
Leslie Manson-Bishop	Men's javelin throw 4	20.08	6
Leslie Manson-Bishop	Men's shot put 4	7.00	11
Leslie Manson-Bishop	Men's pentathlon 4	3285	12
Keith Pienaar	Men's discus throw 5	19.29	15
Keith Pienaar	Men's javelin throw 5	15.36	22
Keith Pienaar	Men's shot put 5	6.96	16
Keith Pienaar	Men's pentathlon 5	2019	8

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Kevin English	100 m backstroke 5	1:30.372	3 Q	1:27.476
Kevin English	100 m freestyle 5	1:33.125	11	did not advance
Kevin English	3x50 m individual medley 5	2:50.735	8	did not advance
Derek Gray	100 m breaststroke 5	2:08.286	6 Q	2:00.708	5
Derek Gray	100 m freestyle 5	1:29.847	9	did not advance
Derek Gray	3x50 m individual medley 5	2:00.042	12	did not advance
David Holland	25 m backstroke 1B	35.8	7 Q	36.1	6
David Holland	25 m freestyle 1B	N/A		31.3
Leslie Manson-Bishop	50 m backstroke 4	51.485	13	did not advance
Leslie Manson-Bishop	50 m breaststroke 4	56.613	10	did not advance
Andrew James Scott	50 m backstroke 4	42.798	3 Q	42.307
Andrew James Scott	50 m breaststroke 4	49.745	2 Q	50.304
Andrew James Scott	3x25 m individual medley 4	1:12.3	2 Q	1:10.6
Unknown	3x100 m medley relay 5–6	N/A		5:01.982	6

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Avril Davis	100 m backstroke 5	2:30.251	11	did not advance
Avril Davis	100 m freestyle 5	2:09.517	9	did not advance
Stephanie Gillies	25 m backstroke 2	39.6	9	did not advance
Stephanie Gillies	25 m breaststroke 2	37.6	7 Q	36.8	7
Stephanie Gillies	25 m freestyle 2	37.7	8 Q	36.3	6
Sandra James	25 m backstroke 1A	N/A		1:47.3	6
Sandra James	25 m breaststroke 1A	N/A		1:13.3
Sandra James	25 m freestyle 1A	N/A		1:10.0 WR
Willemina Kruger	100 m breaststroke 6	2:34.618	6 Q	2:35.405	6
Willemina Kruger	100 m freestyle 6	1:49.463	7 Q	1:47.612	7
Lizette Nel	25 m backstroke 2	48.1	17	did not advance
Lizette Nel	25 m breaststroke 2	56.3	14	did not advance
Lizette Nel	25 m freestyle 2	48.9	10	did not advance
Eileen Robertson	25 m backstroke 1B	45.0	6	did not advance
Eileen Robertson	25 m breaststroke 1B	N/A		52.9
Eileen Robertson	25 m freestyle 1B	N/A		52.7
Elizabeth Weppener	100 m backstroke 5	2:03.550	8	did not advance
Elizabeth Weppener	100 m freestyle 5	2:05.817	8 Q	1:59.808	8
Elizabeth Weppener	3x25 m individual medley 4	1:33.4	4 Q	1:48.8	6

References

1. Rhodesia at the Paralympics on paralympic.org
2. "1972: Rhodesia out of Olympics", BBC
3. "Rhodesia expelled", Montreal Gazette, 23 August 1972