To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Australia’s first Deaflympics medal, a new display has been installed in the National Sports Museum to highlight the achievements of Australia’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing athletes on the world stage.
Australia at the Deaflympics brings together an unmatched collection of awards, uniforms and equipment which reflect Australia’s success at the highest level of international competition, the Deaflympic Games, and demonstrates that you don’t need to hear to be a world-class athlete.
Some of Australia’s most decorated Deaflympians, including Dean Barton-Smith AM, a four-time Deaflympian as well as the first deaf competitor to represent Australia at the Olympic Games, were on hand to help officially open the showcase.
Key memorabilia on display in the showcase includes the shirt worn by Barton-Smith as captain of the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics Australian team and a range of medals won by Australian Deaflympians in various disciplines – including swimming, shooting and athletics.
Visitors can also view a pair of ski boots worn by winter Deaflympian Andrew Swan MBE at the 1983 Winter Deaflympics, when he won gold in both the giant slalom and super giant slalom events, and a variety of items related to the 2005 Deaflympics hosted in Melbourne.
The showcase has been developed with the support of Deaf Sport Australia, and is also supported by Conexu’s OpenAccess Tours app which, when downloaded on a smartphone device, offers a guided tour in Auslan or captioned audio for Deaf and Hard of Hearing visitors.
