Marcus Titus Remains a Beacon of Inspiration with 2025 Deaflympics on Horizon
The 2025 Deaflympics, a multi-sport event with deaf and hard of hearing athletes, will head to Tokyo in November 2025.
USA Deaf Swimming announced a star studded roster earlier this month:
- Sammi Fujii
- Brooke Thompson
- Carli Cronk
- Matthea Gaines
- Ava Pruden
- Quinn Cannon
- Collin Davis
- Marcus Titus
- Dawson Peng
- Holden Ewan
- Syler Pizzolato
- Sam Kohm
Competition will run from November 15-November 26, with Team USA headlined by Olympic Trials finalist Marcus Titus. Now 38, Titus is a veteran of the Team USA Deaf Swim Team.
Born in Tucson, Arizona, Titus grew up swimming for Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics under Frank Busch. Deaf from birth, Titus developed into a powerhouse swimmer quickly. A graduate of the University of Arizona, Titus was a member of the 2008 NCAA championship team for the Wildcats.
He barely missed a World Championships berth in 2009, finishing third at the ConocoPhillips National Championships in the 100 breaststroke.
A year later, Titus’ performance at USA National Championships put him on the 2011 Pan American team. A fantastic set of swims brought him his first senior international medals. Titus finished with bronze in the 100 breaststroke and helped Team USA to silver in the 400 medley relay.
Olympic Trials
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
In 2012, Titus came close to grasping Olympic glory, finishing eighth at the London Olympic Trials, a major step forward for deaf swimming. This appearance was actually his second go-round at the Olympic Trials, after qualifying in 2008. Titus’ personal best swim of 1:00.49 was an improvement by over a second.
Following that effort, Titus led the 2013 Deaflympics team as a coach in Sofia, Bulgaria.
A decorated swimmer on the deaf international stage, Titus won multiple medals at the 2015 Deaf Swimming World Championships.
In 2016, Titus improved his personal best. Finishing sixth at the Olympic Trials, his 1:00.38 brought him just over a second away from Rio.
Making Positive Change
Titus used his platform to make positive change in the swimming community. In the leadup to the 2012 Olympic Trials, Titus petitioned strongly to make USA Swimming allow hand signals for deaf athletes at the start of races. Team USA had initially made the announcement to fall in line with the London Olympics, where officials were not going to be required to have hand signals for deaf athletes.
USA Deaf Swimming and the USA Deaf Sports Federation, in tandem with Titus, established a Facebook page to help rectify the issue. Fans of Titus and deaf swimming flooded USA Swimming with emails.
“This is very frustrating,” said Titus, “This not only makes me the last one on the blocks, it also makes me the last one to get set. I then have a shorter amount of ‘set’ time and sometimes am not entirely prepared for my dive.”
Frank Busch, Titus’ coach, was at the time the USA Swimming National Team director. Within 48 hours, USA Swimming reversed the decision.
In 2016, the inclusion of hand signals and strobe lights aided Titus with a level playing field in the Olympic Trials’ 100 breaststroke final. The strobe lights are seen at the start of the race here.
Marcus Titus is now 38 years old, and a veteran of nearly two decades of competition. He has continued training and competing, remaining a beacon of inspiration for deaf swimmers across the country and the world.