Matthew Klotz Leads Team USA To The Deaflympics In July, 2017

USA Deaf Swimming announced today that seven athletes have been selected to compete in the 23rd  Deaflympics. This competition will take place July 18th through July 30, 2017, in Samsun, Turkey, with several thousand athletes competing in over 21 summer sports.

Recognized by the International Olympics Committee, the Deaflympics take place every four years and alternate every two years with the World Deaf Swimming Championships.

In addition to Matt Klotz, the following athletes have been selected to represent Team USA at the Deaflympics:

• Matthew Klotz, age 20, Cameron Park, CA
• Matthew Yang, age 15, Ellicott City, Maryland
• Tyler Brown, age 15, Fort Thomas, KY
• Alyssa Greymont, age 19, Morgan Hill, CA
• Elizabeth Cocker, age 21, Rancho Cordova, CA
• Emily Massengale, age 16, Bloomington, Indiana
• Molly Likins, age 16, St Clair, Michigan

“These athletes represent a broad range of swimming expertise and stroke diversity,” says Doug Matchett, Director of USA Deaf Swimming. “That will provide an excellent foundation for Team USA to field swimmers in individual events and also be very competitive in mixed and women’s relays.

I expect Matthew Klotz to be very strong in this international competition as he brings over five years of competitive experience to the team including the 2013 Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he won Gold in both the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke and Bronze in the 400 individual medley. Matthew also competed in the United States Olympic Trials this past summer in Omaha.

Five of the seven athletes competed at the 2015 World Deaf Swimming Championships in San Antonio, Texas, and represented the USA extremely well,” says Doug Matchett. Those athletes included Alyssa Greymont, Elizabeth Cocker, Emily Massengale, Tyler Brown and Molly Likins.

The swimming competition will take place July 20th – July 26th, 2017 in the Black Sea port city of Samsun, Turkey, a city of over half a million residents. Samsun has two universities, several hospitals, shopping malls, a large manufacturing industry, and also an opera. It has a variety of sports facilities that make it a prime location to host international sporting events such as the recent 6th Para-Taekwondo World Championship and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 2.

More information on the Deaflympics, the swimming competition, and Team USA can be found at the USA Deaf Swimming Website: www.deafswim.org or Facebook page.

News courtesy of USA Deaf Swimming.