For the first time since 1988, Israel failed to win a single medal during this summer's Games, and so attention will turn to the Paralympics.

Conversely, Israel has a proud Paralympic history, with 113 medals won since the first Games in Rome 52 years ago.

Leading hopes will be the sailing sonar crew of Benny Wexler, Arnon Efrati and Dror Cohen, who won gold at Athens 2004.

Nati Gruberg will be a contender in the cycling, as will Pascale Berkowitz, a mother-of-two who represented Israel at Beijing 2008.

Swimmer Inbal Pizaro and wheelchair tennis partners Dr Boaz Kramer and Shraga Weinberg (pictured below) won silver medals in Beijing, so will hope to return to Israel with more medals next month.


Another wheelchair tennis star, Noam Gershony (pictured top), will have high hopes of success after winning his first quad singles title at the British Open in July.

Ron Bolotin, the secretary general of the Israeli Paralympic Committee, who won 11 swimming medals during his appearances at the Paralympics, says it is getting harder and harder for the country's athletes to win.

"Our success was much higher in 1968 to 1988, when Israel was one of the pioneer nations in Paralympic sports," he told ISRAEL21c.

"Back then, it was not very professional and not many countries invested in it.

"Since the 1990s, and for sure for the last 10 years, it's professional and elite and so it's getting much more difficult."


Israel is looking to at least match the six medals claimed at Beijing 2008, and were given a send off by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured above) before they left for London.

"What you demand of yourselves, nobody demands of you.

"I hope that you bring home medals – but from my point of view, you already have."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]