 |
 | |
| Host city | Copenhagen,  Denmark |
|---|---|
| Nations | 65 countries |
| Athletes | 2,028 athletes |
| Events | 140 (16 disciplines) |
| Opening | 13 July 1997 |
| Closing | 26 July 1997 |
| Opened by | John M. Lovett, CISS President |
| Main venue | Parken Sport & Entertainment |
| Summer | |
| Winter | |
The 1997 Summer Deaflympics (Danish : 1997 Sommer Deaflympics), officially known as the 18th Summer Deaflympics (Danish : 18. Sommer Deaflympics), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 13 to 26 July 1997 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
* Host nation (Denmark)
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 28 | 21 | 27 | 76 |
| 2 |  Russia (RUS) | 14 | 15 | 13 | 42 |
| 3 |  Germany (GER) | 10 | 15 | 22 | 47 |
| 4 |  Sweden (SWE) | 9 | 7 | 4 | 20 |
| 5 |  Canada (CAN) | 9 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| 6 |  Iran (IRI) | 8 | 7 | 3 | 18 |
| 7 |  Italy (ITA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 8 |  Ukraine (UKR) | 5 | 10 | 5 | 20 |
| 9 |  South Africa (RSA) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 |  Netherlands (NED) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 11 |  Australia (AUS) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 12 |  Czech Republic (CZE) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
 Japan (JPN) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 14 | Denmark (DEN)* | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 15 |  India (IND) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 16 |  Ireland (IRL) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 17 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 18 |  Finland (FIN) | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 19 |  Belarus (BLR) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 |  Yugoslavia (FRY) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 |  Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 22 |  Turkey (TUR) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 23 |  Greece (GRE) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 24 |  Estonia (EST) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 25 |  Poland (POL) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 26 |  Lithuania (LTU) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 27 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 28 |  Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 |  China (CHN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 31 |  Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 33 |  Chinese Taipei (TPE) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 34 |  Romania (ROU) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 35 |  Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 36 |  Croatia (CRO) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Latvia (LAT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Moldova (MDA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 39 |  South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 40 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Mongolia (MGL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (42 entries) | 139 | 143 | 137 | 419 | |
The Deaflympics, also known as Deaflympiad are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level. Unlike the athletes in other IOC-sanctioned events, athletes cannot be guided by sounds. The games have been organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds since the first event in 1924.
Miha Zupan is a Deaf Slovenian former professional basketball player. He played among hearing players at the highest level in Europe. He is a 2.05 m power forward who can also play center when needed. He is the only deaf person to play in professional basketball league and in the EuroCup. Miha Zupan has competed at the Deaflympics on 5 occasions from 1997 to 2017.
The 2009 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 21st Summer Deaflympics was an international multi-sport event from 5 to 15 September 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. It was the third Summer Deaflympics to be held in the Asia-Pacific region. Judo, karate, and taekwondo have been recognized as new summer disciplines in the Deaflympics sports competition program.
Events from the year 1997 in Denmark.
The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf is the apex body organizing international sports events for the deaf, particularly the Deaflympics. It is also called the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS). The organization was founded in Paris by Eugène Rubens-Alcais, who organized the first "International Silent Games" in 1924. Alcais was himself deaf and was the president of the French Deaf Sports Federation.
Badminton tournaments at the Deaflympics are organized since 1985.
The 1981 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 14th Summer Deaflympics, is an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from July 23 to August 1, 1981, in Cologne, Germany.
The 1931 Summer Deaflympics officially known as the 3rd Summer Deaflympics was an international multi-sport event that was held from 19 August 1931 to 23 August 1931. It was hosted by Nürnberg, Germany.
The 1949 Summer Deaflympics officially known as the 6th Deaf Olympiad is an international multi-sport event that was held from 12 August 1949 to 16 August 1949. This event was hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark..This Deaflympics was held after 10 years since the last edition of the Deaflympics(1939) due to World War II.
The 1953 Summer Deaflympics officially known as 7th Deaflympics is an international multi-sport event that was held from 15 August 1953 to 19 August 1953. The event was hosted by Brussels, Belgium.
Cyprus first competed at the Deaflympics way back in 1997. Since then Cyprus has been participating at the Deaflympics regularly. Cyprus won its first Deaflympic medal for bowling at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics. Cyprus has never participated in the Winter Deaflympics.
Iceland competed at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1993 and also bagged their first medal at the Deaflympics, which is also Iceland's only medal in Deaflympics history. Iceland also competed in the 1997, 2005 and 2013 Deaflympic events.
Denmark has been participating at the Deaflympics since 1931 and has earned a total of 139 medals.
Uzbekistan has been participating at the Deaflympics since 1997. Uzbekistan won its first Deaflympic medal in the 2009 Summer Deaflympics for Taekwondo, which is also their only medal in Deaflympics history.
Nele Alder-Baerens is a German female distance runner and marathon runner. She is regarded as one of the finest long-distance runners from Germany to have represented the nation at the Deaflympics. Nele Alder-Baerens has represented Germany at the Deaflympics in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2017 and in 2022 has clinched 5 medals in her Deaflympic career including 2 gold medals. She is also the defending champion in the women's marathon at the Deaflympics. Nele also currently holds few deaf world records in the women's Athletics.
Water polo is a water sport which has been contested at the Summer Deaflympics on 11 occasions. Water polo was recognised as a sporting event at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1949 with only two nations competing in the event. Water polo was contested only for men in the Deaflympic history and raised question marks regarding the availability of the sport at the Deaflympics.
The 2021 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 24th Summer Deaflympics or XXIV Summer Deaflympics, and commonly known as Caxias Do Sul 2021, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 15 May 2022 in Brazil. The main host city was Caxias do Sul, Brazil, originally scheduled for December 2021 but postponed until May 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Caxias, there were events scheduled for the neighboring cities of Farroupilha and Flores da Cunha. In April 2022, CISS has announced that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from competing in Caxias do Sul, and in the same press release it was also announced that the bowling tournament was scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during October 2022.
Uganda competed at one edition of the Deaflympics: the 1997 Summer Deaflympics held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The country sent a delegation of twelve athletes and did not win any medals.
Moldova first competed at the Summer Deaflympics in 1993. The country has competed at five Summer Deaflympics and has not yet competed at the Winter Deaflympics.
Football was contested in the 2013 Summer Deaflympics from July 26 to August 4. Riu Resort and Spa Pravets were selected to host the football matches. Russia defeated Ukraine to claim the gold medal. Germany placed third.
