The 2009 Summer Deaflympics (), officially known as the XXI Summer Deaflympic Games and commonly known as Taipei 2009, is an international
multi-sport event that was celebrated from 5 to 15 September 2009 in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
. It is the third
Summer Deaflympics
The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...
to be held in the
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
region.
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
,
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
, and
taekwondo have been recognized as new summer disciplines in the Deaflympics sports competition program.
Bidding process
The
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
Sport Association for the Deaf expressed its intention to bid for the 2009 Summer Deaflympics following its participation at the 2001
Summer Deaflympics
The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, the host city of the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
and the
2004 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 136
, athletes = 3,806
, events = 519 in 19 sports
, opening = 17 September
, closing = 28 September
, opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos
, cauldron = Georgios Toptsis
, stadium = Olympic ...
, was also bidding for the hosting right.
On November 24, 2002, ICSD President John Lovett arrived in Taipei, and visited all recommended venues and facilities during the one-week stay. The Chinese Taipei Sport Association for the Deaf gave Mr. Lovett multimedia presentations and made arrangements for him to meet with President
Chen Shui-bian,
Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Chairman
Huang Ta-chou
Huang Ta-chou (; born 7 February 1936), also known as Thomas Huang, is a Taiwanese politician who served as mayor of Taipei between 1990 and 1994. He chaired the Chinese Taipei Olympic committee from 1998 to 2006.
Early life
Huang was born in ...
, and other officials.
Taipei was chosen to host the 21st Summer Deaflympics in a vote held at the 38th ICSD session, finishing ahead of Athens, Greece. Below was the vote count that occurred on February 28, 2003, in
Sundsvall
Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population.
History
Th ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
:
Preparation
Preparation for the Games started in 2005, with an estimated total budget of
NT$
The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...
4.6
billion for the required infrastructure. The construction of the
Taipei Stadium alone costs around NT$3 billion. The funding is provided by the
Taipei City Government
The Taipei City Government (TCG) is the municipal government of Taipei.
History
The Taihoku City Government was founded on 10 October 1920 in Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese colonial rule. The original city hall was located at the site of ...
and the
Sports Affairs Council
The Sports Administration (SA; ) is a branch of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
History
The Sport Administration was initially established in 1932 as the Sports Council (體育委員會). On 12 January 1998, the ...
. The main stadium Taipei Stadium was completed on June 15, 2009, and was certified as a Class 1 Athletics Facility by the
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
. Besides opening/closing ceremonies and
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
, the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
finals were also held at the Taipei Stadium.
Volunteers
According to the Organising Committee's estimates, based on a 2:1 ratio of athletes to volunteers, the Games required approximately 3,000
volunteers
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
. The volunteers were grouped into 3 categories: regular, foreign language and sign language volunteers, all must accept 120 hours training, including basic, work-specific and
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
trainings. The Taipei Deaflympics have received over 8,000 volunteer applications.
Deaflympics Arts Month
The Organising Committee has designated August 2009 as the "Taipei Deaflympics Arts Month", during which famous artists and art groups are invited to perform at the
Taipei Arena, such as
A-mei
Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...
,
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...
,
Dynamic Yunnan, and
Minghuayuan. The "Taipei International Deaf Culture Fair" was also held, with a series of exhibitions and activities that promoted understanding of the
Deaf culture.
Marketing
Emblem
The emblem comes from the shape of the Chinese character for north (), representing the host city Taipei (), with an ear representing the Deaflympics, and a figure as the main body representing the athletes. The design uses the blue, white and red color scheme of the
national flag
A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...
and simple, flowing
calligraphic lines, evoking the "image of running man". It symbolizes the courageous spirits of the athletes as they excel and meet the challenges as well as the vitality of Taiwan.
Motto
The 2009 Summer Deaflympics motto is "Power in me!". The Chinese version is "無聲的力量" (literally, "The Power of Silence").
Mascots
The Games' mascots are one male and one female
Taipei green treefrogs. The mascots have their arms wide open, in a welcoming pose that looks like the Chinese character "北", which represents the host city Taipei.
A mascot naming contest was held by the Organising Committee. The names chosen are "Peace" for the male frog mascot and "Love" for the female frog mascot.
Theme song
The theme song is "Dreams You Can Hear" (), performed by
A-mei
Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...
.
Sponsors
Sports
The various sports offered at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics were held in 20 disciplines, including 15 individual sports and 5 team sports:
Individual sports
Team sports
* (2)
* (2)
* (2)
* (1)
* (2)
* (1)
Venues
The Games were held in 22 venues, most of which located in
Taipei City
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the Capital city, capital and a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Regions of Taiwan, Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of t ...
and
Taipei County
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...
(now New Taipei City). Some events were held in
Taoyuan County and
Hsinchu County
Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, where ...
, namely
swimming and
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
in Hsinchu County Swimming Plaza,
shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
in Taoyuan County Gongxi Shooting Range, and
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
(backup venue for rain) in Taoyuan campus of
National Taiwan Sport University
The National Taiwan Sport University (NTSU; ) is a public university specialized in sports in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
History
NTSU was originally established as National College of Physical Education and Sports on 1 July 1987. On 1 February 2008, th ...
.
*Opening/Closing Ceremonies:
Taipei Stadium
*
Athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
: Taipei Stadium, Zhongzheng Senior High School (Backup Venue), Yangming Senior High School (Backup Venue)
*
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
: Northern Coast Highway
*
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
:
Taipei Gymnasium
*
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
: Taipei Gymnasium
*
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
: Pacific Green Bay
*
Bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
: Xinqiaofu Bowling Center
*
Cycling, Road: Northern Coast Highway (Road Race),
Taipei City Hall
The Taipei City Hall (), the seat of Taipei City government, is located at Xinyi Special District, Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan.
The height of building is 54.42 m, the floor area is 196,684.59m2, and it comprises 12 floors above ground, as w ...
Plaza (Points Race, Time Trial)
*
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
: Taipei Stadium (Final), Yingfeng Riverside Sport Park (Preliminary)
*
Handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
: Chenggong Senior High School
*
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
:
Taiwan Police College
*
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
: Nangang Sports Center
*
Orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
:
Yangmingshan National Park
*
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
: Gongxi Shooting Range
*
Swimming: Hsinchu County Swimming Plaza
*
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
:
Taipei Arena
*
Taekwondo:
National Taipei University of Education
National Taipei University of Education (NTUE; ) is a university located in Daan District, Taipei, Taiwan that predominantly focuses on teacher training. It was established in 1895, at the beginning of the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan, ...
*
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
: Rainbow Riverside Sport Park,
National Taiwan Sport University
The National Taiwan Sport University (NTSU; ) is a public university specialized in sports in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
History
NTSU was originally established as National College of Physical Education and Sports on 1 July 1987. On 1 February 2008, th ...
(Backup Venue for Rain)
*
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
:
National Taiwan University, Xinzhuang Stadium
*
Water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
: Hsinchu County Swimming Plaza
*
Wrestling, Freestyle:
Chinese Culture University
*
Wrestling, Greco-Roman:
Chinese Culture University
Participating Deaf Sports Federations
80
Deaf Sports Federations have registered with ICSD:
Opening ceremonies
The Organising Committee of the 21st Summer Deaflympics recruited acclaimed Taiwanese
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and
theatre director Dr. Stan Lai as the Games' Art Director, and to orchestrate the opening and closing ceremonies.
According to Stan Lai, ceremony general director, the opening of the Deaflympics will be a "memorable event that will call forth the beauty of the human heart and reach out to the deaf community." It will be divided into 12 acts, including a performance titled "Impossible Dream" by renowned Taiwanese model Patina Lin. Completely covered in body paint, Lin will float across a 50-meter projection screen to create the illusion of a goddess walking through air and water. She will also perform along with children from schools for the hearing-impaired, using sign language to express the message of "Power in Me," Lai said.
World-renowned deaf percussionist
Evelyn Glennie has been invited to perform at the opening ceremony, as well as the local drumming group U-Theatre, and more than 80 children from schools for the hearing-impaired in Taipei and Taichung cities, according to Lai.
The team from the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
did not attend the opening ceremony. Neither side has officially given the reason, although most news sites are attributing it to the Dalai Lama's recent trip to Taiwan. The
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
had previously not attended the opening of the
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
which was held in
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
earlier in the year. Nonetheless, China has sent 63 hearing impaired dancers from the Mainland China to perform the "1,000 hand
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
" at the ceremony.
Closing Ceremonies
In a creative move, a banquet where 12 typical
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
dishes were served at 350 tables dominated the closing ceremony for the 11-day event in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
. The parades, fireworks and arts performances usually seen at such events were also present, but played a secondary role. The menu for the banquet included peanuts from Yunlin County, beef noodles, pineapple cakes, highland tea, and mango shaved ice, accompanied by pearl milk tea and vinegar-based fruit drinks. Some of the foods had been seen at the September 5th opening in a plastic and cloth version during a show representing the best of
Taiwanese cuisine
Taiwanese cuisine (, Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄌㄧㄠˋㄌㄧˇ, or , Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄘㄞˋ) has several variations. The earliest known cuisines of Taiwan are that of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Over hundred years of histor ...
and culture. While the athletes tucked into the local delicacies, the 14,000 members of the public were able to exchange their tickets for food valued at NT$200 per person.
Performances including Taiwanese opera from the famous Ming Hwa Yuan troupe, lion dances, drums, and three songs, including the closing theme song of the 2009 Deaflympics, from
Aaron Kwok, a pop star from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. He said with passion, "I witnessed a successful closing ceremony tonight. Just like I've said during the performance, the Deaflympics touches our heart and
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
has touched the world." A movie was also presented depicting the athletic highlights of the 2009 Summer Deaflympics.
At the end, the flag was passed on to the Greek capital of Athens, the host of the
2013 Summer Deaflympics
The 2013 Summer Deaflympics ( bg, 2013 летни дефлимпийски игри), officially known as the 22nd Summer Deaflympics ( bg, 22-ра лятна глуха олимпиада), was an international multi-sport event that took place ...
scheduled for 2013. The fourth
Deaflympics
The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...
in the Asia-Pacific region will also be preserved in history as the best ever for host Chinese Taipei, which won 11 gold medals, 11 silvers and 11 bronzes. The country placed fifth for the number of medals won, with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
coming first after collecting 29 golds, 40 silvers and 28 bronzes.
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
came second,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
third, and the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
fourth.
Chinese Taipei's strongest performances were on show in
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
,
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
, and
taekwondo, the Korean martial art that has also brought success to Taipei athletes at Olympic Games. One Taipei athlete alone, Chang Yao-chien, collected four golds in women's bowling. Nevertheless, the country still fell narrowly short of its self-set goal of 12 gold medals, which officials blamed on the limited source of talent available.
On the political side of the sporting event, the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
announced earlier it would be present for the closing ceremony, after having missed the opening, widely thought to have been planned that way to avoid the presence of
President Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from 1 ...
. The team's deputy leader, Zhao Sujing, told reporters that the 78 Chinese participants had to come together in Beijing from all parts of China first, and that problems with airline ticketing had caused them to miss earlier flights to
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
. However, more than ten athletes were to be present in Taiwan to participate in the closing ceremony. The
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
won 12 golds, nine silver and 17 bronze medals, or double its amount at the Melbourne Deaflympics four years ago. Praising the organization,
International Committee of Sports for the Deaf
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
President Donalda Ammons used sign language to say "the Taipei Deaflympics were the best ever."
She received the keys to Taipei and the honorary citizenship of the city from the hands of
Mayor of Taipei Hau Lung-pin. He bestowed similar honors on other ICSD officials, including executive member and China team leader Yang Yang, the first-ever Chinese citizen to receive honorary citizenship in Taipei.
Overall, most regarded the ceremony as a success. The only "unwelcome intrusion to an otherwise perfect ending was the deportation of a Spanish athlete for alleged sexual harassment of a volunteer."
Medal Tally
Calendar
In the following calendar for the 2009 Summer Deaflympics, each blue box represents an event competition. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. The number in each yellow box represents the number of finals that are contested on that day.
*
See also
*
List of sporting events in Taiwan
This is a list of international sporting events in Taiwan:
Multi-sport Events
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Baseball
1 The 2021 World Baseball Classic was originally scheduled for 2021, but has been rescheduled to 2023 due to the COVID-19 ...
References
External links
The 21st Summer DeaflympicsInternational Committee of Sports for the Deaf
{{Deaflympics
Deaflympics
Summer Deaflympics, 2009
Sports competitions in Taipei
International sports competitions hosted by Taiwan
Multi-sport events in Taiwan
Deaflympics
The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...
2000s in Taipei
September 2009 sports events in Asia