With his third gold medal at the Deaflympics in Tokyo, deaf professional Allen John showed how important calm and body awareness are in golf.
It’s windy when Allen John stands on the green of the “Wakasu Golf Links” and puts in the last putt of the round. When the ball disappears into the hole, he has his third gold medal in a row Deaflympics won.
The Deaflympics are the world’s most important multi-sport event for people with hearing impairments. The first event took place in Paris in 1924 and since then they have been held every four years. This makes them the oldest international multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
“Screams of joy only in your head”
“The moment the last ball fell into the hole, I could only hear the cheers in my head”says the German golfer, who was born almost deaf. To ensure equal opportunities, all athletes must remove their hearing aids for the duration of the competition. Only a few moments later, when John puts them back on, does the audience’s applause reach his ears.
Because competitors cannot be warned acoustically, the dangers in competition are real. “When someone tees off and says ‘Fore!’ shouts, of course no one can hear it.”explains John. “You have to hope that nothing happens.” The athletes only use sign language to communicate.
The fact that John excels in this environment is also due to a skill that many golfers have to laboriously train: absolute body awareness. “When I play without hearing aids, I get better access to my feelings. I perceive everything that has to do with feeling more intensively. I use this as a strength to get feedback on my shots.”
Between two golf spheres
The 38-year-old has been moving between two spheres of golf for years: professional golf for hearing people and the world of deaf sports. He carries his devices on the hearing tours: communication, small talk, consultation, all of this becomes easier. “Sometimes I miss it a bit”he says. “At deaf tournaments you’re more in your own world and trying to make the best of it.”
The fact that he remains in rhythm despite this change is no coincidence. He has been playing on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa for months in order to have consistent competition conditions even in winter. That paid off in Tokyo: While many European athletes came out of cold mode, John was right in the middle of the season – and dominated.
Sensation at the European Open 2018
His appearance in the Japanese capital marked the start of the German team’s furious performance at the Deaflympics: with 24 medals, six of them gold, it was the best haul in two decades. John is one of their most defining faces.
He had already caused a stir on the big stage in 2018 when he sensationally took second place at the European Open in Germany. As a deaf professional, he impressed the golf world not only with his precision, but also with his composure under pressure.
“That’s when I realized that I could compete with the best players in the world”says John, who had to forgo the 150,000 euros in prize money because of his amateur status at the time. Nevertheless, this success laid the foundation for his self-confidence in international competitions and was a precursor to his dominance at the Deaflympics.
A role model in a quiet discipline
The fact that he also won the silver medal with the team in Tokyo rounded off John’s performance. “At the Deaflympics you always play for your country. Every success is a collective success.” And this success, his hat trick, is a particularly impressive one, as he ultimately won by nine shots.
John has long been an identification figure for many young deaf athletes – without him having sought this role. “When you hear little or nothing, you face many challenges”he says. “But in the end it makes you stronger. Everything I had to overcome in my childhood and adolescence made me a confident and independent person.”
What remains is an athlete who has grown in the fight against adversity – and who shows that top performance can also be achieved where there are no cheers to be heard.