Helston deaf athlete who got into sport before he could talk

Thomas Rosenfeld was swimming competitively long before most people would have guessed how far it would take him. He got into sport before he learnt to talk, and decades later it is still the thing that gets him through the day.

From the GB Deaf Swim Team to the Deaflympics

Thomas, 44 and from Helston, is a deaf GLL Sport Foundation athlete. He competed for the Great Britain Deaf Swim Team for five years from the age of 16, took fourth place at the European Deaf Championship in 1998, and was part of the GB team at the Deaflympics in Rome in 2001.

When his swimming career ended, he moved on to football, playing for both Redruth Utd and St Day FC.

Ironman success across Europe

Since 2016, Thomas has focused on triathlons, with results to show for it in both Ironman and Ironman 70.3 international competitions. A full Ironman covers 140.6 miles of swimming, cycling and running. An Ironman 70.3 is exactly half that distance, with more emphasis on speed and pacing.

He came third in his age group at the Challenge Family 70.3 in Gdansk, Poland, and second in his age group at this year’s Ironman 70.3 Venice-Jesolo. He has taken on full Ironman competitions in Tenby, Vichy, Tallinn and Frankfurt, and will be racing another in Barcelona this October.

The training behind all this is relentless. Thomas puts in an average of 17 to 20 hours a week, including early morning swim sessions, gym workouts, and strength and conditioning at Helston Sports Centre.

“Sport gives me the confidence to cope in a hearing world”

“Sport gives me the confidence to cope in a hearing world,” said Thomas, who works full-time as a bespoke joiner.

“I train before and after work and prefer being with no more than two or three people who understand my deafness. Having a simple conversation can be exhausting as I lip read and that’s hard when someone speaks too fast or assumes that because I wear hearing aids, I know what they’re saying.

“When I go to an event, I try and get all the details beforehand. Briefings and presentations can be very difficult if there aren’t sub-titles, so I like to have a supporter with me who picks up on what I miss.

“I sometimes feel very isolated, but sport gives me such pleasure. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without it.”

What the GLL Sport Foundation gives him

As a GSF athlete, Thomas gets free access to any of the GLL leisure centres in Cornwall, along with more than 250 of their facilities nationwide. He can also access physiotherapy and mental health support.

“The sport that I do is very expensive and I’m very grateful for the valuable help that GSF gives me,” he said. “The Helston Leisure Centre team are amazing. They know me, know what I need and make training there enjoyable.”

Thomas is one of 178 athletes in Cornwall to have been awarded funding worth £122,640 by the GLL Sport Foundation this year.