TOKYO — When Palomar College professor of American Sign Language David Hamilton agreed to coach the USA Deaf men’s basketball team earlier this year, he had one goal — to bring back the gold during the 2025 Deaflympics.
That dream was fulfilled on Nov. 25, when the U.S. defeated Ukraine 69-59 in the final at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics following quarter-final and semi-final wins over Lithuania and Israel, respectively. The championship game was a long-awaited rematch of the 2022 final, in which Ukraine had previously defeated the USA by 25 points.
The win also ended a “16-year drought” for the USA Deaf men’s basketball team, which last won gold in 2009.
“When I was selected as the head coach for the USA Deaf Basketball Team for the 2025 Deaflympics, I made a promise to assemble the best 12 players possible and prepare them for the journey ahead. I knew it would be challenging,” Hamilton said. “Winning the gold medal at the Deaflympics was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It was truly one of the best feelings I have ever had.”
Organized by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, the Deaflympics is the top-tier athletic competition for premier deaf athletes around the world, held every four years. Prospective athletes must have a certain level of hearing loss to qualify.
Hamilton, who has taught at Palomar since 2023, has decades of experience as a player and coach in Deaflympics basketball. The Kentucky native is a five-time gold medalist himself, competing in his first Deaflympics at just 17 in Germany, then in Los Angeles in 1985, Bulgaria in 1993, Copenhagen in 1997, and Rome in 2001.
Hamilton went on to coach the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams starting in 2005, and then took a break from coaching for around a decade before being recruited to return to coach the 2025 games.
This year’s men’s team included Stu Jones, Jory Valencia, Preston Kelly, Keanu Ray Boren, Michael Lizarraga, Noah Valencia, Andy Cruz, Raymond Nelson, Blessed Mgobo, Patrick Danen, Derek Keels, and Jon Mowl, who is from San Diego.
“Our players live all over the country, and the United States is simply too large to gather the team frequently. We had just one year to prepare, so every opportunity to train together mattered,” he said.
Compared to the hearing Olympics, Deaflympics teams receive much fewer, if any, sponsorships or funding opportunities. The U.S. Deaf men’s basketball team also had fewer opportunities to train together compared to other countries’ teams, Hamilton said.
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Still, the team was able to get together for four training camps between October 2024 and November 2025. In addition, the team and USA Deaf Basketball worked hard to secure funding to hold a final week-long training camp in Tokyo right before the games.
“That preparation proved to be one of the key reasons we were able to win gold,” Hamilton said. “Ukraine, who beat us by 25 points in the [2022] Olympics, came in as the heavy favorite to repeat in 2025. But because of our commitment and preparation, we earned a chance to face them again — and this time, we defeated them in the championship match.”
Along with the team’s victory, Hamilton said another meaningful experience from the Tokyo games was a basketball clinic held for local kids.
“Seeing their excitement and joy as we taught them was truly inspiring, and reminded us how much impact we can have beyond the court,” Hamilton said.
The U.S. Deaf women’s basketball team took silver at the Deaflympics, losing to Japan by one point in the final.
