Darrion Green
Darrion Green, a hearing-impaired football star and Woodrow graduate, is headed to the Deaflympics this summer. The Deaflympics are exactly what they sound like: athletic competitions for deaf athletes from all over the world.
Green was picked for the U.S. Deaflympic track and field team, which will compete in Turkey July 18-30. Green will run the 110m hurdles, the 200m dash and the 4x100m relay.
More than 2,500 athletes from 77 countries competed in the last Deaflympics, when the U.S. team took home 29 total medals.
The athletes do not receive any financial support from the US Olympic Committee or the government. Fortunately, Green was able to raise the $4,500 he needed for travel, accommodations and uniforms from private donors, many of them from the Woodrow and deaf community in Dallas.
The 23rd Summer Deaflympics will be held in 21 sports across 39 venues in Samsun, Turkey. The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) is the second oldest international competition, next to the Olympics.
A press release from the ICSD reads, “For us it is an opportunity to remind people that this sport event is not only a performance for the medal. This is a chance to find new friends, this is new experience and these are the positive emotions.”
In a fundraising letter, Green writes, “It brings me great honor to be representing the deaf community, Woodrow Wilson High School, and our great nation. Thank you again, and look for my name when they raise the American flag upon receiving the gold medal.”
