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.
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Svishchev is a Russian politician, a deputy of the 7th State Duma of the Russian Federation. He rose to prominence as a businessman and sports administrator.
Turkey has been participating at the Deaflympics since 1961 and has earned a total of 119 medals.
Belarus participated at the Deaflympics from 1993 until it was banned in 2022, and won 87 medals. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) banned athletes from Belarus from that year's Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Malaysia first competed at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1993. Since then, Malaysia has competed at the Summer Deaflympics on four occasions. Malaysia won its first Deaflympic medal also during its maiden appearance at the 1993 Summer Deaflympics. Malaysia also narrowly missed the opportunity to compete at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics after being not readied to take part at the event.
Football for both men and women was contested in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics from July 18 to July 30.
Turkey as the host nation of the 2017 Summer Deaflympics competed in the event fielding 287 athletes. Turkey finished on 4th in the Medal list after winning 46 medals including 17 gold medals; this was also the occasion where Turkey won the highest number of medals in a single Deaflympics event.
Israel competed in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Samsun, Turkey and they sent a delegation of just 6 participants for the event. This was the 15th appearance for Israel in the Deaflympics after making its debut way back in 1993. The Israeli team managed to receive the solitary bronze medal in the Men's Shooting. This was the second overall medal won by Israel in their Deaflympic history after clinching a bronze medal in the 1993 Summer Deaflympics.
Czech Republic which was formerly a part of Czechoslovakia, first competed at the Deaflympics, as an independent nation in 1993. But in 1993, coincidentally Czechoslovakia competed in its last Deaflympic event. Prior to the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Czech athletes went on to compete at the Deaflympics from 1928 to 1993 for Czechoslovakia.
Brazil competed in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Samsun, Turkey. Brazil sent a delegation consisting of 101 participants for the event. This was the 9th consecutive time that Brazil was eligible to participate at the Summer Deaflympics since making its debut in 1985.
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.
Norway competed in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Samsun, Turkey. Norway sent a delegation consisting of 7 participants for the event. This was the 20th consecutive time that Norway participated at the Summer Deaflympics since making its Deaflympic debut in 1931.
Malaysia competed in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Samsun, Turkey after narrowly missing the opportunity to compete at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics due to the Malaysian players' allegation for not having enough practices to compete at the event. Malaysia sent a delegation consisting of 16 participants for the event though it was earlier announced that only 10 competitors would take part in the multi-sport event. This was only the fifth time that Malaysia was eligible participate at the Summer Deaflympics after making its Deaflympic debut in 1993.
India competed in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Samsun, Turkey. India sent a delegation consisting of 46 participants for the event.
Natalia Deeva is a Belarusian deaf female swimmer. She has competed at the Deaflympics on six occasions, the most appearances by a Deaflympic competitor representing Belarus at the Deaflympics. She is notable for breaking three deaf swimming world records in a single day at the 2007 World Deaf Swimming Championships.
The 2019 Winter Deaflympics, officially known as the 19th Winter Deaflympics or XIX Winter Deaflympics, was the 19th edition of the Winter Deaflympics, and took place between the 12–21 December in Sondrio Province in Northern Italy. The opening ceremony was held in Sondrio on 12 December and curling competition began a day prior to the start of the Winter Deaflympics. Sporting events apart from curling commenced on 13 December.
The 2021 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 24th Summer Deaflympics or XXIV Summer Deaflympics, and commonly known as Caxias Do Sul 2022, 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.
Wrestling at the 2021 Summer Deaflympics was held in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil from 10 to 14 May 2022.
Oleksii Kolomiiets is a Ukrainian deaf swimmer. He made his Deaflympic debut during the 2017 Summer Deaflympics.
Soviet Union (1957–1991)
