United States Deaf Swimming

We are preparing Team USA for the Deaf Olympics (Deaflympics) in November 2025 hosted by Japan.  We rely on your support to help us bring home the gold!  Your donations make our participation, and United States representation, possible.  USA Deaf Swimming, and deaf sports, do not receive any government or Olympic Committee funding support. YOU make everything from suits to travel to dreams possible.

USA Deaf Swimming champions swimming among the deaf community and forms America's Deaf Swim Team to represent the United States at international competitions like the Deaflympics and World Deaf Swimming Championships.  Your gifts make the dreams of these elite deaf athletes possible for them.  Athletes depend on donations from individuals and organizations to enable them to represent the USA in international competitions and champion swimming among the deaf community.

Our swimmers come from across the United States and normally range in age from 14 to 26.  They are all members of USA-Swimming, USADS, and the USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF).  The USADSF, although an affiliate of the US Olympic Committee (USOC), is not a USOC-funded entity. Able-bodied and Paralympics national team athletes receive training and travel funds, but Deaf swimmers do not. For that reason, Team USA must raise ~$120,000 per competition; $8,000 per athlete for training, travel and accommodation expenses for international competition.  Team USA depends on YOUR SUPPORT! 

Team USA's recent accomplishments include:

2024 1st World Deaf Youth Games. The United States withdrew from competition because of a lack of financial support. The games were hosted by Brazil from January 15-22, 2024 and included 6 sports - Swimming, Athletics, Badminton, Futsal and Table Tennis. Athletes were ages 18 and under.

2023 6th World Deaf Swimming Championship, Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 14-19, 2023.  A team of seven athletes, 4 men and 3 women, represented the United States with Head Coach Jon Maccoll.  Team USA topped the medal chart brining home 25 including 13 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze.  All 7 athletes medaled during the 6 days of grueling competition where 29 countries sent their best deaf swimmers to represent them.  Team USA earned 25 medals with 13 Gold, 6 Silver and 6 Bronze.  Every athlete achieved 2 or more personal best times during the competition.  Holden Ewan, 14 from Austin, TX, set personal best times in all 9 of the individual events he competed in.

2021 Summer Deaflympics in Caxious do Sul, Brazil held from 1-15 May 2022 (delayed due to pandemic). Twelve athletes, 4 men and 8 women, comprised Team USA Deaf Swimming.  The team brought home 35 medals including 16 Gold, 5 Silver, and 14 Bronze. Carli Cronk set the World Record for the most gold medals in a single games with 12.  She also set World Deaflympic records in the 1500 meter freestyle, 400 meter individual medley and the 100 meter butterfly.

Matthew Klotz won 14 medals including 5 gold, 2 silver and 7 bronze. In 2 previous Deaflympics Klotz earned 8 medals bringing his total Deaflympic medal count to 22 and tying the record for the most medals in Deaflympic competition.

The USA Withdrew from Competition: 1st World Deaf Short Course Swimming Championships in Poland on 15-20 November 2021. The USA was not represented in this 1st ever short course Deaf World Championship because we were unable to generate enough financial support for a team.

2019 World Deaf Swimming Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 25-31st, 2019 where 30 countries were represented.  During six days of competition our US team of 13 athletes (9 women and 5 men) brought home 6 Silver and 3 Bronze medals; placing us 5th in the medal count behind Russia, Ukraine, Japan, and Poland. 

23rd Summer Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey on July 18-30, 2017, where the team brought home 8 medals, several world records, and several national records.

USADS had the honor of hosting the 4th World Championships, held in San Antonio, TX from August 17-22, 2015. Team USA was represented by 11 men & 10 women. Overall Team USA came in second to the team from Russia. Multiple medalist and record breaker Marcus Titus lead the charge for Team USA. The team achieved 2 World, 4 Championship, and 6 American Records and brought home 13 medals - 7 Gold, 1 Silver, and 5 Bronze.