2023 World Deaf Swimming Championships
- August 14-19, 2023
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
The United States is sending a seven-swimmer roster to the 2023 World Deaf Swimming Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the seven-day competition set to kick off on Monday, August 14.
The U.S. squad is headlined by Carli Cronk, the deaf world record holder in six different events who recently announced her commitment to attend the University of Notre Dame next fall.
Cronk, 17, will be joined by Rutgers commit Brooke Thompson and Matthea Gaines on the women’s roster, while the men’s team will feature Collin Davis, Holden Ewan, Samuel Kohm and Syler Pizzolato.
Cronk, Thompson and Davis were all members of the team that represented the U.S. at the 2022 World Summer Deaflympics last May in Brazil.
U.S. ROSTER, 2023 WORLD DEAF SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Athlete | Age | Hometown |
Carli Cronk (F) | 17 | San Antonio, TX |
Matthea Gaines (F) | 17 | Graham, WA |
Brooke Thompson (F) | 18 | Bloomfield Hills, MI |
Collin Davis (M) | 20 | Durham, NC |
Holden Ewan (M) | 14 | Austin, TX |
Samuel Kohm (M) | 19 | Cary, NC |
Syler Pizzolato (M) | 16 | Billings, MT |
The team will be led by coach Jon Maccoll, the current head coach at Rutgers where Thompson will be competing beginning this fall.
Team USA is enroute to Buenos Aires for Deaf Worlds.#swim #usadsf #deaf pic.twitter.com/XrEHSaFG7m
— USA Deaf Swimming (@deafswim) August 9, 2023
Cronk is the current deaf world record holder in the LCM women’s 400 free (4:21.27), 800 free (8:57.93), 1500 free (17:33.90), 100 fly (1:01.31), 200 fly (2:11.06) and 400 IM (4:48.53). At last year’s Deaflympics, she won a record 12 gold medals.
The other active American swimmer who is a deaf world record holder, Matthew Klotz, is not on the roster as he’s currently on Season 25 of the reality TV show Big Brother.
Klotz, who previously swam for the LSU Tigers in the NCAA, currently owns deaf world records in the men’s 50 free (22.85), 50 back (25.75), 100 back (56.06) and 200 back (2:01.96).
I’m not sure how to go back onto the Big Brother live feeds and timestamp something, but according to some live feeds watchers, Matt Klotz was saying to his other houseguests in the BB house how he was hoping and planning to represent Hungary in 2024 to have a better chance at making the Olympic team (for the Olympics, not the Deaflympics). I don’t know exactly when this was said but some live feed accounts were discussing this a couple days ago.