Team Kenya heads to Tokyo for 2025 Deaflympics with hopes of record medal haul
Fueled by national pride and months of intensive training, Team Kenya is ready to make history at the 100th anniversary of the Deaflympics in Tokyo.
The first batch of athletes set to represent Kenya at the 2025 Summer Deaflympics departs Nairobi on Tuesday evening, heading to Tokyo, Japan, for the global event scheduled for November 15–26.
The games, held every four years, will mark a historic milestone — the 100th anniversary of the Deaflympics since the inaugural edition took place in Paris in 1924.
According to Team Kenya Chief Executive Officer Duncan Kuria, the 180-member delegation — comprising athletes, coaches, team officials, interpreters, and medics — will travel to Japan in three phases.
“The first group will leave for Tokyo on Tuesday, November 11, while the remaining two groups will depart on Wednesday and Thursday,” Kuria said.
“Our team is ready, and we are very anxious to land in Japan and see that we post better results than we did last time in Brazil (2022),” he told journalists on Sunday at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
“We hope our athletes can acclimatise fast when they reach Tokyo. In terms of competition, we are up to the task. We will challenge the rest of the world and win as many medals as possible,” he added.
Residential training camp
Team Kenya has been in a residential training camp in Nairobi since October 19, undergoing intensive preparations for the Games, which are expected to attract around 6,000 athletes and officials from across the globe.
Kenya will compete in five disciplines: athletics, women’s basketball, men’s handball, golf, and swimming. The country had initially planned to participate in 12 events, but budget constraints forced the withdrawal of seven teams — women’s football, bowling, badminton, tennis, table tennis, cycling, and women’s volleyball.
“Initially, we had a contingent that had 12 disciplines, but we did some deliberations with the government officers in the Ministry of Sports, and we came to a decision that we had to reduce some of the teams,” Kuria explained in late October.
“It was purely a money decision — nothing to do with looking at other disciplines as smaller or maybe condemning them that they cannot bring medals.”
This year marks Kenya’s eighth appearance at the Deaflympics since making its debut in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1997. Over the years, Kenya has steadily improved, achieving its best-ever performance at the 2022 Games in Brazil with 24 medals.
In the 2017 edition held in Samsun, Turkey, Kenya was Africa’s top team and finished ninth globally with a total of 16 medals — five gold, five silver, and six bronze.
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