The Deaflympics, also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) 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 (the Olympics, the Paralympics, and the Special Olympics), athletes cannot be guided by sounds (such as starting pistols, bullhorn commands or referee whistles).International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – News . Deaflympics.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011. The games have been organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS, "The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf") since the first event in 1924.
History The Deaflympics are held every four years, and are the longest running multi-sport event in history after the Olympics.What are the Deaflympics?. Disabled World. Retrieved 17 October 2011. The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were the first ever international sporting event for athletes with a disability.Future Directions of the Deaflympics . Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011. The event has been held every four years since, apart from a break for World War II, and an additional event, the Deaflympic Winter Games, was added in 1949.Historical overview of the Paralympics, Special Olympics, and Deaflympics . Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011. The games began as a small gathering of 148 athletes from nine European nations competing in the International Silent Games in Paris, France, in 1924; now, they have grown into a global movement.
Officially, the games were originally called the "International Games for the Deaf" from 1924 to 1965, but were sometimes also referred to as the "International Silent Games". From 1966 to 1999, they were called the "World Games for the Deaf", and occasionally referred to as the "World Silent Games". From 2001, the games have been known by their current name Deaflympics (often mistakenly called the Deaf Olympics).
To qualify for the games, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 dB in their "better ear". Hearing aids, cochlear implants, and the like are not allowed to be used in competition, to place all athletes on the same level. Other examples of ways the games vary from hearing competitions are the manner in which they are officiated. To address the issue of Deaflympians not being able to be guided by sounds, certain sports use alternative methods of commencing the game. For example, the football referees wave a flag instead of blowing a whistle; on the track, races are started by using a light, instead of a starter pistol. It is also customary for spectators not to cheer or clap, but rather to wave with both hands, the Deaf form of applause.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from that year's Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Host nations and cities The Summer Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 24 cities in 20 countries, but by cities outside Europe on only seven occasions (Washington, D.C. 1965, Los Angeles in 1985, Christchurch in 1989, Melbourne in 2005, Taipei in 2009, Caxias do Sul in 2022, and Tokyo in 2025 – the most recently held event). The Winter Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 17 cities in 12 countries. The last winter Games were held in Erzurum, Turkey in 2023.
The 2011 Winter Games scheduled to be held in Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia were cancelled due to the lack of readiness by the organizing committee to host the games.Winter Olympics: 2011 Winter Deaflympics Cancelled . Healthyhearing.com (17 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011.International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – PressRelease . Deaflympics.com (13 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011. The International Committee of Deaf Sports filed a criminal complaint against the Slovak Deaflympics Organizing Committee and its president, Mr. Jaromír Ruda.ICSD Pursuing Legal Action Following Failure of 17th Winter Deaflympics . Deaf Sports Mag. Retrieved 17 October 2011. The criminal complaint demands reimbursement of the funds that were transferred to the Slovak Deaflympics Organizing Committee from national deaf sports federations, to cover hotel accommodations and other Deaflympics-related expenses. According to the Slovak newspaper, SME, "Jaromír Ruda, head of the Slovak Organising Committee, [is] a champion of promises and someone who is accused of a 1.6 million Euro Deaflympics-related fraud".Slovakia: Deaflympics 2011 Controversy · Global Voices. Globalvoices.org. Retrieved 17 October 2011. In a letter to the United States Deaflympians, International Committee of Sports for the Deaf ICSD President Craig Crowley expressed "his deep apologies for the cancellation of the 17th Winter Deaflympics".2011 US Deaflympics – Article | Letter from ICSD to USA athletes . Usdeaflympics.org (17 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011. Currently, the Slovak Deaflympic Committee and the Slovakia Association of Deaf Sportsmen Unions have been suspended.International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – PressRelease . Deaflympics.com (14 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011. In 2013, the Special Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica sentenced Ruda to a prison term of years for defrauding €1.6 million that should have been used for Winter Deaflympics.Deaflympics Committee Head Sentenced to Thirteen Years – English News. Webnoviny.sk. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
The host cities and National Deaf Sports Associations for all past and scheduled games are as follows:International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – Games. Deaflympics.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
List of Summer Deaflympics hosts Games Year Host Opened by Dates Nations Competitors Sports Events Top-ranked Total Men Women 1 1924 Paris, France Gaston Doumergue 10–17 August9 148 147 1 6 31 2 1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands Wilhelmina of the Netherlands 18–26 August10 212 198 14 5 38 3 1931 Nuremberg, Germany Paul von Hindenburg 19–23 August14 316 288 28 6 43 4 1935 London, Great Britain George V 17–24 August12 221 178 43 5 41 5 1939 Stockholm, Sweden Gustaf V 24–27 August13 250 208 42 6 43 6 1949 Copenhagen, Denmark Frederik IX of Denmark 12–16 August14 391 342 49 7 51 7 1953 Brussels, Belgium Baudouin of Belgium 15–19 August16 473 432 41 7 57 8 1957 Milan, Italy Giovanni Gronchi 25–30 August25 635 565 70 9 69 9 1961 Helsinki, Finland Urho Kekkonen 6–10 August24 613 503 110 10 94 10 1965 Washington, D.C., United States Lyndon B. Johnson 27 June – 3 July27 687 575 112 9 85 11 1969 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito 9–16 August33 1189 964 225 12 105 12 1973 Malmö, Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf 21–28 August31 1116 893 223 11 97 13 1977 Bucharest, Romania Nicolae Ceauşescu 17–27 July32 1150 913 237 11 106 14 1981 Cologne, West Germany Helmut Schmidt 23 July – 1 August32 1198 893 305 11 110 15 1985 Los Angeles, United States Ronald Reagan 10–20 August29 995 745 250 11 96 16 1989 Christchurch, New Zealand David Lange 7–17 January30 955 726 229 12 120 17 1993 Sofia, Bulgaria Zhelyu Zhelev 24 July – 2 August52 1,679 1,295 384 12 126 18 1997 Copenhagen, Denmark John M. Lovett 13–26 July65 2,028 1,496 534 14 140 19 2001 Rome, Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi 22 July – 1 August67 2,208 1,562 646 14 143 20 2005 Melbourne, Australia Marigold Southey 5–16 January63 2,038 1,402 636 14 147 21 2009 Taipei, Chinese Taipei Ma Ying-jeou 5–15 September80 2,670 1,714 779 17 177 22 2013 Sofia, Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev 26 July – 4 August 83 2,711 1,792 919 16 203 23 2017 Samsun, Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 18–30 July97 2,856 1,897 959 18 219 24 2022 Caxias do Sul, Brazil Michelle Bolsonaro 1–15 May 2022 71 2,412 1,647 765 18 219 25 2025 Tokyo, Japan Hisako, Princess Takamado15–26 November79 2,911 1,878 1,033 18 209 26 2029 Athens, GreeceFuture event
1 The Republic of China (Taiwan) is recognised as Chinese Taipei by the CISS and the majority of international organisations it participates in due to political considerations and Cross-Strait relations with the People's Republic of China.
2 The marathon was held 4 days before the opening ceremony in Füssen, Germany on 21 July 2013.
3 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Deaflympics that were to be held in December 2021 were postponed until May 2022, and due to the small number of venues within the host city, the bowling events were transferred to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and were held between 20 and 30 October 2022.
List of Winter Deaflympics hosts Games Year Host Opened by Dates Nations Competitors Sports Events Top-ranked Total Men Women 1 1949 Seefeld, Austria 26–30 February5 33 33 0 2 5 Switzerland 2 1953 Oslo, Norway 20–24 February6 44 42 2 4 9 3 1955 Oberammergau, West Germany 10–13 February8 59 54 5 4 11 4 1959 Montana-Vermala, Switzerland 27–31 January10 42 3 14 5 1963 Åre, Sweden 12–16 March9 60 2 13 6 1967 Berchtesgaden, West Germany 20–25 February12 89 2 11 7 1971 Adelboden, Switzerland 25–30 February13 145 2 11 Switzerland 8 1975 Lake Placid, United States 2–8 February13 136 4 12 9 1979 Méribel, France 21–27 January14 180 3 12 10 1983 Madonna di Campiglio, Italy 13–23 January15 147 3 17 11 1987 Oslo, Norway 7–14 February15 169 3 18 12 1991 Banff, Canada 2–9 March16 175 5 18 13 1995 Ylläs, Finland 14–19 March18 260 4 15 14 1999 Davos, Switzerland 6–14 March18 273 5 17 15 2003 Sundsvall, Sweden 26 February – 9 March21 259 4 23 16 2007 Salt Lake City, United States 1–10 February23 302 5 26 17 2011 Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia 16–28 February Cancelled 18 2015 Khanty-Mansiysk and Magnitogorsk, Russia Vitaly Mutko 28 March – 5 April27 344 5 31 19 2019 Sondrio Province, Italy Marco Scaramellini 12–21 December34 493 7 36 20 2024 Erzurum, Turkey Mustafa Çiftçi 2–12 March 202436 534 314220 634 21 2027 Innsbruck, AustriaFuture event14-24 January 744
Youth Games 1st Summer Youth Deaf Games was held in 2024 in Brazil with 17 nations in 4 sports (28 events).
All-time medal table
Summer Deaflympics An all-time Summer Deaflympics from 1924 Summer Deaflympics to 2025 Summer Deaflympics, is tabulated below. The table is simply the consequence of the sum of the medal tables of the various editions of the Summer Deaflympics.
Winter Deaflympics An all-time Winter Deaflympics from 1949 Winter Deaflympics to 2023 Winter Deaflympics, is tabulated below. The table is simply the consequence of the sum of the medal tables of the various editions of the Winter Deaflympics.
Combined