The distance from Baton Rouge to Samsun, Turkey, is over 6,000 miles and nearly 14 hours in flight. It is a long and difficult trip.
For sophomore swimmer Matthew Klotz, it was worth it.
Klotz won three gold medals, set two world deaf records and won two silver medals at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics, which is for a quadrennial event for deaf athletes.
“It was awesome,” Klotz said. “I did it four years ago and that was a totally new experience for me. This time I went I had more experience, so I knew how to handle it and what to expect.”
That experience made a difference for Klotz. In 2013, he won two gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke and the 200-meter backstroke, setting world deaf records in both, along with a bronze in the 400-meter individual medley.
This time Klotz won three gold medals in the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter backstroke and setting Deaflympics records in all three. The three wins in the backstroke were a sweep in the swimming discipline.
Klotz’s three gold medals were the only three gold medals that the USA won at the Deaflympics and the majority of the five gold medals won by Team USA in the competition.
“I was really proud of it,” Klotz said. “When I went the first time, I only got two gold medals, so my goal was to get at least three this time. And I got three, plus two silver, and that was more than I could ask for.”
Klotz’s silver medals came in the 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly. He beat the previous Deaflympics record in the 50-meter freestyle, but came in second by just .10 of a second.
Klotz big record break came in the 200-meter backstroke. He broke his own world deaf record of 2:02.50 seconds and Deaflympics record of 2:07.43 seconds with a time of 2:01.96 seconds. The silver medalist finished nearly six seconds after Klotz.
“I was really surprised by those records,” Klotz said. “I was shooting for the gold medal, but for the record I was not sure, because those were my personal bests, so I had to be perfect in everything.”
Klotz was surprised by his success in part because of the difficulties associated with international competition. Klotz cited the jet lag and the long travel time as two of the big factors in international completion.
Swim coach Dave Geyer said he was pleasantly surprised with Klotz performance, since Klotz turned down World Championship trials to participate in the Deaflympics.
“It was great,” Geyer explained. “You never want to give excuses going into a meet, but with stuff going on with our training, it was not really as adequate as it could be. He had an opportunity to attend World Championship trials, but we didn’t feel that we would be able to swim well at two meets around the same time, so we just focused on this one. It worked out pretty well thankfully.”
The Deaflympics has set up Klotz for swimming in the Southeastern Conference this season.
While the SEC is more competitive, according to Klotz, the Deaflympics had a culture of respect since all of the competitors are hard of hearing.
“I needed that meet,” he said. “Last season, I did not get the times that I really wanted so I kind of got down on myself and got off track a little. Going there and getting better times made me rethink my strategy and realize I have a lot more work to be doing.”
That renewed work effort will make a difference in SEC competition, which Klotz says is the most competitive conference.
That competition is at its height for Klotz when he faces Alabama, where his sister Stephanie Klotz graduated from and swam. According to Matt, his sister pointed him in the direction to LSU.
“She went to Alabama, so I wanted to go the same conference as her, because she told me how much she loved the conference,” he said. “I chose LSU of the overall package – all the academic and athletic support it gives. The coaching staff and team here are one of the best things you could ever ask for. I am very lucky to be here. “
His teammates have been very supportive of him, Klotz explained. During meets and practice, his teammates will tell him what he missed when he is unable to hear the coaches. The Tigers coaching staff also writes on a board and checks with him to make sure he hears.
Despite being hard of hearing, Klotz says that he does not think he is at a disadvantage compared to his competitors and teammates.
“We want to try to get what he did this summer this season,” said Geyer. “We need him to score at SECs and try to get him to NCAAs.”
