Marcus Titus

Marcus James Titus (born May 20, 1986) is a deaf American swimmer who has made it as far as eighth place in the 2012 Olympic Trials. Titus won a state championship at Flowing Wells High School and is a 12-time-All-American at Arizona, he was a major figure in the US’s 2008 NCAA championship team, and he was previously a coach for the 2013 Deaflympic team. He is also known for being a spokesperson for deaf and hard-hearing athletes in the swimming world.

Titus is the deaf world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter breaststroke, and 100-meter breaststroke, all of which he set records for at the World Deaf Championships. Titus's career highlights include finishing third in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2009 ConocoPhillips National Championships, placing fourth in the same event the following year in 2010, and, lastly, placing third again the year after that in the 2011 ConocoPhillips National Championships. Titus was born deaf. However, his parents, Mark and Mieko Titus, didn't discover this until the age of three. Titus can hear a close-up conversation at about fifty percent capacity when wearing a device in his right ear. His interpreter, Hans Ferguson, helps him communicate better at meets by using hand signals to inform him when to take his mark and begin the race. He began swimming at the age of twelve for his high school team, Flowing Wells. There Titus earned four varsity letters in swimming and was named High School All-American as a senior. He participated in the 4x100 medley relay team, helping to lead his team to first place at the National Championships.thumb Titus earned four varsity letters in swimming at Flowing Wells High School in Tucson, Arizona. He participated in the 4x100 medley relay team, helping to lead his team to first place at the National Championships, in which his split time was 1:04.14. At a Speedo Champion Series, Titus took first place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.14. Titus was named High School All-American as a senior.

Titus attended the University of Arizona and got his degree in deaf studies/special education. His college swim coach nicknamed him Marcus Aurelius because his name sounded very Roman. Titus also gained the title of a multiple All-American in breaststroke and in medley relay events, placing second in the 2008 NCAAs. In the 2012 Olympic trials, Titus posted a time of 1:00:49 in breaststroke, coming in eighth place, just barely missing making the Olympic team by .79 of a second. From his first attempt at the Olympic trials in 2008, Titus shaved off 1.18 seconds off his time in the 2012 Olympic trials. . As coach, Titus led his team to two new world records and multiple American records and medals.

Influence in Swimming World

Other than through his success in swimming, he has also made a positive change for deaf swimmers in races and competitions. He has done this through his efforts in contacting the officials about allowing hand signals during races. After much work and effort put towards getting hand signals in the rule book, US swimming finally deems them mandatory. In a sport that is decided by only fractions of a second, this allows deaf swimmers to be able to do their best during competition without as many obstacles.

USA Swimming decided to allow hand signals at the U.S. Olympic trials, thanks to Titus and his fan base, to accommodate deaf swimmers. Titus, upon hearing USA Swimming would not allow hand signals to comply with international rules, talked to US Swimming through an attorney. When this didn't work, Titus set up a Facebook page to get fans to e-mail USA swimming officials. Before, they only used strobe lights, which is good for deaf and hearing-impaired swimmers to know when to start the race, but not any other cue. Titus took this as a form of discrimination against deaf and hearing-impaired swimmers. While other swimming organizations used hand signals to accommodate those who are hearing-impaired, USA Swimming did not. Titus, backed up by U.S. Deaf Swimming and USA Deaf Sports Federation, finally got USA Swimming to reverse this decision in July 2012 .

Without hand signals, deaf swimmers may face addition challenge. Deaf swimmers need these to hear the referee’ instructions to step up to the starting blocks, take their marks before starting, or even hear the buzzer to dive. In a sport where every millisecond is important, reliance on observing other swimmers for the start may affect performance.

The USDS Team took 19 Swimmers to World Deaf Swimming Championships in Coimbra, Portugal. The team brought back a total of 22 medals (11 Gold, 4 Silver, and 7 Bronze). The USDS (United States Deaf Swim) Team was named 2011 World Deaf Swimming Champions.