Rutgers Junior Brooke Thompson Set to Race 10 Events at Deaflympics
Rutgers swimming and diving junior Brooke Thompson will compete with Team USA this week at the 2025 Deaflympics. As a member of the delegation the USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADF) is sending to Tokyo, Thompson will compete against deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes from around the world, where all participants compete without hearing assistance to ensure equal competition conditions. Swimming competition begins on November 20 and continues through November 25.
Thompson is slated to compete across 10 events. She will begin on Thursday with the 100 butterfly and 400 freestyle. On Friday she swims the 100 freestyle and 50 breaststroke. Saturday is the 100 breaststroke and 50 backstroke. She then has one event each of the next two days, the 50 freestyle on Sunday and 50 butterfly on Monday, followed by the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke on Tuesday to wrap up the competition.
A team captain for the Scarlet Knights, this will be the second trip to the Deaflympics for Thompson, who participated in 2022 in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, winning five gold medals and three bronze medals. She has also won 11 medals in two World Deaf Swimming Championships.
Thompson holds the USA Deaf Swimming Record in the 50 freestyle (23.53), which she set at the 2025 Big Ten Championships. The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, native also captured the ECAC 200 Medley Relay Championship last March and is an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
Born completely deaf, Thompson is an advocate for adaptive technology and workplace inclusion for individuals with disabilities. She received her first cochlear implant at one-year-old and her second at four.
“It’s awesome to be part of Team USA,” Thompson said in a Big Ten Network feature spreading the awareness of Deaf Swimming. “I’m very thankful. I love the interactions with other deaf swimmers and deaf athletes from other countries. Some of my best friends are from that team. I think that’s an amazing experience to have as a deaf athlete. I wish more people knew about Deaflympics and Deaf Swimming because I think it’s such an amazing opportunity to have as a deaf athlete and really connects you to the community.”
“Brooke – you’ve been a wonderful captain and a wonderful athlete,” head coach Jon Maccoll said. “You are a wonderful representative for all in the hearing impaired community. Good luck and keep chopping.”
“Brooke – you are truly an inspiration,” Rutgers Director of Athletics Keli Zinn said. “You embody everything we would ever hope to see from a Scarlet Knight. Go for the Gold and Go RU!”
United States Aquatic Association of the Deaf, an affiliate of the USA Deaf Sports Federation, was incorporated in April of 1990 and last captured 35 medals including 16 goals, five silver and 14 bronze at the 24th Deaflympics in Brazil in 2022.
Thompson was recently named an official brand ambassador for SHI International, one of the world’s leading IT solutions providers.
The above press release was provided to Swimming World by Rutgers University