Rutgers junior swimmer Brooke Thompson earned six medals at the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, including two gold and four bronze. Thompson also contributed to three record-setting swims during the event.
She secured three individual medals: bronze in the 50 freestyle, as well as the 50 and 100 butterfly events. Thompson also participated on three medal-winning relay teams: the 4×100 medley relay, the 4×100 free relay, and the 4×200 free relay.
In addition to her medals, Thompson set a new USA Deaf Swimming record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.58 seconds. This achievement adds to her previous short course yards record from the 2025 Big Ten Championships. She now holds both national records for this event, surpassing Carli Cronk’s previous long course mark of 26.95 seconds set in 2023.
Thompson was part of two mixed relay teams that broke world records. In the mixed medley relay, she swam the anchor leg with a split of 59.07 seconds, helping her team finish at 3:58.57—a Deaf World Record—beating Russia’s previous mark by over three seconds and earning gold. She also contributed to another world record in the mixed 4×100 free relay with a total team time of 3:39.66.
Reflecting on her experience at the Games, Thompson said, “The competition was fierce, and I had an amazing time creating new memories and friendships, as well as seeing old friends, racing hard, and earning medals,” adding that it was “truly a one of a kind experience that I am proud and thankful to be part of.”
Thompson is from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. All athletes at these Games compete without hearing assistance for fairness; Thompson herself was born deaf and is an advocate for adaptive technology and workplace inclusion for people with disabilities. She received cochlear implants at ages one and four.
This marks Thompson’s second appearance at the Deaflympics after winning eight medals in Brazil in 2022. Her overall tally includes eleven medals from two World Deaf Swimming Championships; her latest results bring her career totals to fourteen Deaflympic medals and twenty-five international Deaf Swimming medals.
“It’s awesome to be part of Team USA,” said Thompson in a feature by Big Ten Network promoting awareness about 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.”
The Deaflympics are organized by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) every four years with separate summer and winter editions. The Tokyo event marked its centennial anniversary since first being held in Paris in 1924 under founder Eugene Rubens-Alcais’ vision for greater recognition of deaf athletes worldwide.
The Tokyo Games took place November 15-26 with representation from around seventy to eighty countries or regions across twenty-one sports disciplines; Team USA fielded one hundred sixty-three athletes—including thirteen swimmers who competed alongside Thompson.
