The Deaflympics:
An Illustrated Overview
The Deaflympics are an international multi-sport competition for deaf athletes. The use of hearing aids and cochlear implants is prohibited in the competition, thereby placing all participating athletes on the same level.
Held every
4 years
The Summer Deaflympics
and Winter Deaflympics
are each held every 2 years.
Number of Games
Held to Date
24 Summer Deaflympics Games,
and 20 Winter Deaflympics Games
Number of Host
Nations to Date
20 nations for the Summer
Deaflympics Games, and 12 for
the Winter Deaflympics Games
Number of Participants
Number of sports
in Tokyo 2025
All rules of the Olympics
apply to the Deaflympics,
with the only difference
being the use of visual devices
such as lights and flags
in the Deaflympics,
to provide visual communications.
Football, swimming, table tennis, etc.
Sports
Athletics/Badminton/Basketball/Beach Volleyball/Bowling/Cycling Road/ Mountain Bike/Football/Golf/Handball/Judo/Karate/Orienteering/Shooting/ Swimming/Table Tennis/Taekwondo/Tennis/Volleyball/Wrestling Freestyle/ Wrestling Greco-Roman
Eligibility Conditions
A hearing loss of
at least 55 dB (decibels)
in the better ear
A citizen of
a nation member
of the International Committee
of Sports for the Deaf
Notes:
1. dB is a unit used to measure the sound level, and the bigger the unit is, the more difficult it is to hear
2. A hearing loss of 55 dB means the person cannot hear street vehicle sounds.
Number of Medals Won by Japan at the Previous Deaflympics
of Medals Ever
Gold: 12
Silver: 8
Bronze: 10
TOPICS
1924
Establishment of Le Comité International des Sports Silencieux (the International Committee of Silent Sports), commonly known as the CISS. The first Deaflympic Games, then known as the International Silent Games, were held in Paris, France.
2001
The World Games of the Deaf renamed as the Deaflympics.
2025
The 25th Games in Tokyo marking the 100th anniversary of the Deaflympics will be held in Japan for the first time.
1965
The 10th Summer Deaflympic Games held in Washington, D.C., U.S., this being the first Deaflympics to be held outside of Europe, as well as the first for Japan to compete in.
2017
The 23rd Summer Deaflympic Games, held in Samsun, Turkiye, with the biggest participation ever, by 100 nations and regions, and approximately 3,100 athletes.
TOKYO FORWARD 2025
Let's support the Tokyo 25 Deaflympic!
Seiji MatsumotoIllustrator
Born in Osaka in 1986. He graduated from Osaka University of Arts. After gaining experience as a designer in Tokyo, he moved to New York to pursue his artistic career.
In 2017, she announced “ANDY the mouse” at her first solo exhibition.
Currently, she expresses her own view of the world in various fields beyond the boundaries of art, illustration, and graphic design, and her works are highly evaluated at solo exhibitions and art events around the worldwide.
I am extremely selective about which elements of the subject to use in my work, and I express them in highly simple manners while keeping the overall shape of the subject, much like in pictograms. This creates depths in the facial expressions and blank spaces that appear in my work. It will be a great joy if my work can help bring the world together on the beautiful setting of the World Athletics Championships where athletes of diverse cultural and linguistic heritages gather, and the Deaflympics which celebrates the power of visual communications.
