Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have an able-bodied equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
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.
Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practised by people with a disability as a parasport. The athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, with two major exceptions in wheelchair racing and the club throw, which are specific to the division. The sport is known by various names, including disability athletics, disabled track and field and Paralympic athletics. Top-level competitors may be called elite athletes with disability.
The 2013 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 22nd Summer Deaflympics, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from July 26 to August 4, 2013. The marathon had been held before in Füssen, Germany on 21 July.
Sofia was hosting the biggest sports event for deaf athletes for a second time. In the past the Bulgarian capital hosted the 1993 Summer Deaflympics, thus becoming only the second city, together with Copenhagen, which has hosted two Summer Deaflympics.
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.
Abolhassan Ilchi-Kabir was an Iranian deaf Wrestler and Deaflympics Gold-Medalist. Iran Wrestling Federation has named Iranian deaf Wrestlers championship "Haj-Ali Eftekhar & Abolhassan Ilchi Kabir Cup" to honor him.
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.
The Philippines has been competing at the Deaflympics since the 2009 edition. The country is represented by the Phil Sports Federation of the Deaf (PSFD).
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".
Antoine Dresse (1902-1998) was a Belgian deaf sport activist and the co-founder of the Comite International des Sports des Sourds, which is the world governing body of deaf sports. Antoine Dresse has also represented Belgium at the Deaflympics from 1924 to 1939. Dresse competed for Belgium in tennis and in the track events. Antoine served as the first founding secretary-general of the CISS from 1924 to 1967.
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.
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.
Trude Raad is a deaf Norwegian track and field athlete. She generally competes in the discus throw and hammer throw events at the International competitions. Trude has represented Norway at the Deaflympics in 2009, 2013 and 2017 and has won 4 gold medals in her Deaflympic career. She was also a champion in the women's hammer throw event at the Deaflympics on 3 consecutive occasions. She broke her own deaf world record in the women's hammer throw at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics with a distance of 66.35m, the previous best was 65.03m
Rebecca Adam is an Australian lawyer and business executive. She was President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) between 2018 and 2019, who also served as a former President of Deaf Sports Australia. On 1 August 2018, she was appointed as the 10th ICSD president replacing Valery Rukhledev who was found guilty of embezzlement from the All-Russian Society of the Deaf and was sacked from May 2018. The appointment of Rebecca Adam created further controversy among the deaf sports authorities which cautioned to sue against ICSD in International Olympic Committee. She became only the second woman after Donalda Ammons to be elected as President of International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.
The 2021 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 24th Summer Deaflympics, was the international multi-sport event held in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, as the main host city from 1 May to 15 May 2022. In addition to Caxias, there are events scheduled for the neighboring cities of Farroupilha and Flores da Cunha. On April 12, 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 20–30, 2022.
Deaf Sports Australia (DSA), formerly known as Australian Deaf Sports Federation, is the national governing body of Deaf Sports in Australia.
