TOKYO— Chapman Swim and Dive junior Sammy Fujii has 10 years of competitive swimming experience under her belt at just 20 years old. She participated at the 2019 Swimming World Championships, the 2021 Deaflympics and is heading to Tokyo to compete in the 2025 Deaflympics. 

Fujii has a gene mutation that has affected her ability to hear since she was a child. She was adopted from China as a baby. 

"In a spiritual sense, she picked Lynn and John as her parents," close family friend and Chapman Women's Basketball Head Coach Carol Jue said. "They are who gave her everything she needed to grow in this life and have this opportunity". 

Her family was originally unaware of her hearing loss and realized it one day when she was a kid. Her father was spending time with her and playfully clapped his hands behind her head. While most children would've reacted, Fujii sat there silently, unfazed. This led to the realization of her hearing loss. Some may think it would've stopped from pursuing her dreams. But Fujii and her family had other plans. 

Her loss was her gain. It led her to the Deaflympics. 

"As a deaf person I get to experience things other people never will," Fujii said.

Now Fujii spends almost as much time swimming as she does walking. But it didn't start out that way. She began swimming originally for safety reasons and because her mother stressed the importance of having active hobbies. She dabbled in hula and even ballet for a bit, but swimming stood out the most.  

Fujii's swim coach saw her potential and encouraged her to try out for the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, a competitive club swim team located in Pasadena, Calif. She made the team at 10 years old and the rest was history. 

Similarly to the Olympics the Deaflympics are every four years. They are the longest running multi-sport event in history aside from the Olympics. The first games were held in Paris in 1924. Originally the games were called "International Games for the Deaf" then the "International Silent Games". Now, they are known by the current name "Dealympics." In order for all athletes to compete at a similar level, they must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels. During competition, the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants are not permitted.  

"I had my ears on and I didn't realize that they were playing music, it sounded distorted at first." Said Fujii when she recalled the opening ceremony in 2022. 'My teammates said 'take off your ears or turn it off.' When I did, I could feel the music," she continued. 

Her journey to the 2021 Deaflympics began her freshmen year of high school in 2018. One of Fujii's coaches competed against Matt Klotz, an athlete who previously competed in the Deaflympics. Hearing Klotz's story was an inspiration for Fujii's coach, who then urged her to go through the process to compete at the Deaflympics. Joining the team involves registering with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. They also must meet the minimum hearing loss of 55 decibels and register with their national team federation. 

"I didn't think I was going to make it to the USA Deaf Team," Fujii recalls. "I never thought I would do it as part of my career."

Fujii defied her own expectations by going on to compete in the 2019 World Championships in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2022, Fujii went on to compete for Team USA in the 2021 Deaflympic Games hosted in Caxias de Sul, Brazil. Unfortunately, her participation in the competition came to a halt when she tested positive for COVID-19 leaving her unable to finish competing. After Brazil, she thought her days competing would be over, until she started swimming at Chapman. 

"If someone has a goal, my job is to help them achieve it," Chapman Swim and Dive head coach Juliet Suess said. 

Fujii decided to give it one more go with the support of Suess and others. She has a community of people in her corner ranging from her parents, to Jue, who she refers to as one of her "aunties", to the swim and dive staff at Chapman. 

"She always had people watching over her," Jue said. 

Her community has encouraged the communication skills she possesses today, that make her the person and the athlete she is. Growing up, Fujii's mother would stress that over communication is something she should never be afraid of. She carried those lessons with her into college. Now, Fujii is a leader and advocate for herself and the entire team. 

"My favorite thing about Sammy is that she is an amazing communicator," Suess said. "She is always advocating for herself, for her needs."

Traditionally swimmers will listen to the coach for the next set to be announced at practice. Fujii communicated her inability to hear those announcements with her team and coaches. She was able to get the sets printed out on paper and taped inside a sleeve on her lane wall. Soon thereafter, her teammates wanted in on it. 

"People would come up to me because I had the paper set," Fujii said. "They like to know what's going on (in practice) or if they missed something."

Now at Chapman the team is fond of using Fujii's printed out sets and sleeves in every lane at practice. It's a prime example of how Fujii's advocacy makes her a valuable leader and helped qualify for her second straight Deaflympics.

Fujii is set to compete Nov 20-24th. She will swim in the 100 meter butterfly, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke, 50 meter butterfly and 50 meter freestyle. Her competition schedule is attached here.