The socialization and participation of Deaflympians in sport

D/deaf people are often ignored within sports research. This paper centralizes the experiences of four D/deaf athletes who have competed in the Deaflympics and offers some insights about their socialization into sport. The key questions addressed are: (1) What are the key factors enabling D/deaf athletes’ involvement and progression in elite D/deaf sport? (2) What are the key challenges D/deaf athletes face when participating and progressing in D/deaf sport? Findings from the interviews suggest that early specialization into sport does not include exposure to Deaf sport.