A trio of students at Austin’s Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) are in Brazil to participate in the 24th summer Deaflympics, according to a press release from the state-operated school and its social media platforms.
TSD secondary students Kourtney Dolliole, Marisa Giuntoli and Trent Gobble are representing Team USA at the quadrennial sporting event in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, TSD said.
It’s the first time a Latin American city will host the games, Austin FOX affiliate KTBC reported.
The Deaflympics will take place from today through May 15.
“In Brazil today, they’ve joined an estimated 4,500 athletes from more than 100 countries to begin training for the summer Deaflympics,” the school said in a Facebook post.
Events include, but aren’t limited to: Basketball, beach volleyball and cycling, per KTBC.
According to TSD, Dolliole, a senior from Houston, will compete in track and field as is Gobble, a junior from Austin. Senior Giuntoli, who also hails from Austin, will compete in swimming, the school’s release said.
“Unlike Olympians, there are no sponsors for these athletes, who are solely responsible for funding the entirety of their own trip expenses through fundraising or out-of-pocket,” TSD said in the release.
The institution added that their contingent has a Mightycause page to cover trip costs, KTBC reported.
The Deaflympics follow the Olympic calendar – and like the main Games themselves – the event for elite athletes who are deaf or hearing impaired experienced a postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the station reported.
With a student body of at least 500, TSD is the the oldest continuously operating public school in the state, per the release.
