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.
Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS) is the apex body organizing international sports events for the deaf, particularly the Deaflympics. It is also called the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. 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.
The First International Silent Games, or First International Games for the Deaf, now referred to retroactively as the 1924 Summer Deaflympics, were the inaugural edition of the Deaflympics. The Games were held in Paris, France, from 10 to 17 August 1924, as an equivalent to the Olympic Games for deaf athletes. They were organised on the initiative of deaf Frenchman Eugène Rubens-Alcais, who, just after the Games, co-founded the Comité International des Sports des Sourds with other "deaf sporting leaders". The 1924 Games were "the first games ever" for athletes with a disability, preceding the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games in 1948, which became the Paralympic Games in 1960 but which did not include events for deaf athletes.
Karim Raeisinia is an Iranian deaf wrestler and a Deaflympics gold medalist. He won four freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling Deaflympics medals in 62–67 kg category of 1957 Milan and 1961 Helsinki. However, he was unable to gain a medal in the 73–79 kg category of the 1965 Washington DC games because of an injury and was ranked 4th in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. He was a friend of Abolhassan Ilchi Kabir and Gholamreza Takhti. Mansour Raeisi is also his cousin.
South African Deaf Sports Federation (SADSF) is the official governing body of Deaf Sports in South Africa responsible for sending, supporting, funding the teams representing South Africa and the deaf sportspeople at the Deaflympics, Deaf World Championships. The organisation took the responsibility for sending deaf sportspeople at the Deaflympics since 1993.
Deaf Sports New Zealand (DSNZ) formerly known as the Deaf Amateur Sports Association of New Zealand is the national governing body of Deaf Sports in New Zealand.
Turkish Deaf Sport Federation is the official national sport governing body of deaf sports in Turkey.
Eugène Rubens-Alcais was a French deaf activist in the field of sports. He is known for introducing the Deaflympics in 1924 for deaf sportspeople. He was determined to establish international competitions for the deaf, as they were considered as intellectually disabled people during his lifetime. Alcais believed that deaf athletes should have their own independent international competitions and promoted the idea in his own deaf sports magazine called The Silent Sportsman. In 1924, he was instrumental in hosting the inaugural Summer Deaflympics in his home country, France. Alcais is also the founder of Comité International des Sports des Sourds, the world governing body of deaf sports. He is often called the "father of Deaflympics" or "father of Olympics for the deaf".
John Michael Lovett AM was a former Australian government administrator who made the breakthrough in the development of deaf sports in Australia. He was also the former President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, served as the 7th president from 1995-2003 until his death.
Valery Nikititch Rukhledev is a Russian sports activist. He is also a 6 time gold medalist in wrestling for the Soviet Union at the Deaflympics from 1969 to 1977. He served as the president of the Comite International des Sports des Sourds from 2013 to 2018. He retired from the position as President of ICSD on 31 July 2018 after being charged on embezzlement charges in a corruption scandal, in which he was accused of embezzling $803,800 from the All-Russian Society of the Deaf. He was later replaced by Australian Rebecca Adam as ICSD President on 1 August 2018 which created further controversy in the Deaf sports world.
The 2011 Winter Deaflympics officially known as the 17th Winter Deaflympics was originally scheduled to be held from 18 February 2011 to 26 February 2011 in Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia. This was the first time that Slovakia was selected to host a Deaflympic event. But the multi-sporting event was cancelled due to the lack of preparations, lack of readiness and reluctance by the Deaflympic Committee of Slovakia prior to the event. The event was also cancelled mainly due to the alleged fraud by the former President of the Deaflympic Committee of Slovakia, Jaromir Ruda. The Winter Games was cancelled and was postponed to 2015, which was the 18th Winter Deaflympics.
Donalda Kay Ammons is an American educator and author. She served as a teacher at several deaf schools in United States. Ammons was also the former President of the Comite International des Sports des Sourds (CISS) from 2003 to 2009.
Shi Ce is a Chinese deaf female table tennis player. She has represented China at the Deaflympics four times from 2005 to 2017. Shi Ce has been regarded as one of the finest athletes to have represented China at the Deaflympics, having won 14 medals at the event since making her debut in the 2005 Summer Deaflympics.
Dawn Jani Birley is a Canadian deaf actress, television anchor, educator and a popular taekwondo practitioner. She was engaged with her sport, taekwondo in her early parts of the life before becoming a professional actor in the mid-2000s. She graduated at the Gallaudet University.
Beryl Atieno Wamira is a Kenyan female deaf track and field athlete. She competed in the 2013 Summer Deaflympics and in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics representing Kenya. She has won a total of 3 medals in her Deaflympic career including a Junior deaf world record breaking gold medal in the women's 200m event during the 2013 Summer Deaflympics.
Melanie Stabel is a German deaf sport shooter. She represented Germany at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics and claimed 3 medals including a gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle with a record score of 412.6 in the finals.
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.
Malaysian Deaf Sports Association also simply known as MSDeaf is the national governing body of deaf sports in Malaysia which was formed in 1993. It is also affiliated with the Comite International des Sports des Sourds since 1993. Despite its establishment in 1993, the sports council got recognition as the Deaf Sports Association of Malaysia from the government of Malaysia under the leadership of Najib Razak in 2018.
Hellenic Athletic Federation of the Deaf is the official national sport governing body of Deaf Sports in Greece.
Deaf Sports Australia (DSA), formerly known as Australian Deaf Sports Federation, is the national governing body of Deaf Sports in Australia.
