Discus Thrower Yugami Claims Long-Awaited Deaflympics Gold; Sets New Deaflympics Record with 58.93-Meter Throw

By Shizuka Goto / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

17:34 JST, November 25, 2025

Deaf track and field athlete Masateru Yugami won the gold medal in the men’s discus throw final at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on Monday with a throw that set a new Deaflympics record of 58.93 meters.

Yugami, 32, a native of Shiga Prefecture who is congenitally deaf, also represented Japan at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. He holds the Japanese record of 64.48 meters in the men’s discus throw and is widely known as the nation’s foremost figure in the event.

Yugami won a silver medal at the 2017 Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, and since 2019 he has been training under an Australian coach and actively participating in international tours.

Driven by a strong desire “to show that, in spite of the adversity I face [due to being deaf], my horizons are still broad and I can still compete,” he continues to take on the challenges offered by the Deaflympics stage.

He competed in two major international tournaments held in Japan this autumn. Yugami relished the satisfaction and joy, saying, “I hope [the spectators] will be inspired to challenge themselves.”