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Pioneers in Leadership of Deaf Sports
The pioneers of the international deaf sports movement were Eugène Rubens-Alcais of France and Antoine Dresse of Belgium. The traditions they created have been strengthened by deaf men and women who share a passion for sports and competition within the worldwide deaf community. These outstanding leaders share a background of lifelong commitment and leadership in their nations as well as in international deaf sports organizations.


Rubens-Alcais
Eugène Rubens-Alcais (1884-1963) was a car mechanic and competitive cyclist. He led the Paris Sports Club for Deaf Mutes and founded what is now the French Deaf Sports Federation. He believed that deaf athletes should have their own international competition and promoted the idea in his magazine, The Silent Sportsman.
A brilliant man of modest habits, Rubens-Alcais lived in a simple attic apartment. He gave all his time working for deaf people and led the deaf sports movement as the president of what is today the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf from its founding in 1924 until 1953. Rubens-Alcais became known as “the deaf Baron de Coubertin,” as Baron de Coubertin is the considered the father of the modern Olympic Games.


Dresse
Antoine Dresse (1902-1998) followed his family tradition and rose to the top of a brokerage firm. Born into a family of bankers, he was also a runner and a tennis player. Dresse became the founding secretary-general of what is today the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. He held this post for 43 years, until he retired in 1967. For more than a half a century he was a driving force behind deaf sports in Belgium. A talented athlete, he won a bronze medal in the 400 meters at the 1928 competition and medals in tennis in the 1928, 1931, 1935, and 1939 competitions.

For more information, visit the Deaflympics website.

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© 2006 by International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. All rights reserved.