Antoine Dresse (1902-1998) was a Belgian deaf sport activist and the co-founder of the

Comite International des Sports des Sourds Propargite (IUPAC name 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)cyclohexyl prop-2-yne-1-sulfonate, trade names Mitex, Omite and Comite) is a pesticide used to kill mites (an acaricide). Symptoms of excessive exposure are eye and skin irritation, and possibly sensit ...

(renamed as International Committee of Sports for the Deaf), which is the world governing body of deaf sports. Antoine Dresse has also represented Belgium at the Deaflympics from 1924 to 1939. Dresse competed for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in tennis and in the track events. Antoine served as the first founding secretary-general of the CISS (now called as ICSD) from 1924 to 1967.

Biography

Antoine Dresse was born into a family of bankers and industrialists on the 1st of August, 1902 in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. Antoine was profoundly deaf in his both ears since childhood. He followed the tradition of his family and rose to the top of a brokerage business firm.

Contributions to promote Deaf Sports

Antoine Dresse is considered as one of the pioneers of the deaf sports movement along with the French deaf activist,

Eugène Rubens-Alcais Eugène Rubens-Alcais (7 May 1884 – 8 March 1963) was a French deaf activist in the field of sports. He is known for introducing the Deaflympics in 1924 for deaf sportspeople. He was determined to establish international competitions for the ...

. Antoine assisted him in the formation of the International Committee of Sports for the deaf in 1918. He also played a key role to introduce

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 1924 and also participated in the inaugural multi-sport event for the deaf people despite holding the post of secretary-general. Antoine Dresse held the Secretary General post of the

from 1924 to 1967 for about 43 years until his retirement. Dresse had been the key factor in the development of Deaf sports in Belgium.

Sports career

He was also a runner and a tennis player during his young age. Antoine has participated at the

in 1924, 1928, 1931,1935 and in 1939. He won a total of 9 medals in the Deaflympics including a gold medal.

Awards and honours

* Medal of honour (Gold) - 1949 * ICSD/CISS Honorary Member - 1973 * Honorary degree from

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

(1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dresse, Antoine 1902 births 1998 deaths Deaf activists Belgian male tennis players Belgian male sprinters People from Liège Belgian sports executives and administrators Belgian deaf people