At the 24th ICSD Congress in 1977, there were 3 candidates to host the next Pacific Games: Izmir (Turkey), Tehran (Iran) and Essen (West Germany). Tehran won this candidacy, thanks to its promise to offer free accommodation to all participants. Nevertheless, these Games went ahead in ... Köln due to the unexpected revolution in Iran.
Thanks to the courage of the German Deaf Sports Federation, they were able to make this organisation possible at very short notice!
Belgium won several medals with 23 athletes (15 men & 8 women): 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.
1. 213 athletes from 32 countries (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, East Germany, West Germany, Soviet Union, Israel, Japan, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Venezuela, Canada and the USA) took part in these Games with sports such as athletics, basketball, handball, swimming, water polo, football, volleyball, cycling, shooting, table tennis, tennis and wrestling.
Notable facts were:
- at the opening ceremony, 3 members of the sports delegation from Bangladesh ran for the first time;
- for the first time, the opening ceremony was attended by the IOC president, Mr Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP).
- at these games, doping tests were introduced for the first time ever. As a result, two Russian athletes were caught doping.
In the medal standings, we saw : the USA finished in 1st place with 109 medals (45 gold, 29 silver and 35 bronze), while the Soviet Union won 55 medals (2nd place with 21 gold, 20 silver and 14 bronze) and West Germany took 3rd place with 28 medals (3 gold, 8 silver and 17 bronze).
- Atletics
- Els Boen (°1962) : 100 m & 200 m.
- Marianne Lamote (°1958) : 100 m & long jump (8th place).
- Joseph Gysen (°1958) : 10.000 m & 25 km (8th place).
- Karel Glorieux (°1959) : High Jump (brons) & long jump.
- Albrecht Struylaert (°1961) : 100 m & 200 m.
- Jean-Marie Rebry (°1944) : 5.000 m (6th place).
- Tennis
- Jean-Claude Biernaux (°1953) : Singles (4th place) & Doubles (4th place, with Lucien Gerin).
- Lucien Gerin (°1945) : Singles & Doubles (4th place, with Jean-Claude Biernaux).
- Josette Robinson (°1941) : vNatalie Watelet).
- Natalie Watelet (°1963) : Doubles (with Josette Robinson).
- Nicole Robinson (°1941) : Singles & Doubles (with Lily Hollevoet).
- Lily Hollevoet (°1934) : Singles & Doubles (with Nicole Robinson).
- Cycling
- Gerald Troch (°1961) : time trial (silver) & road race (4th place) & 1.000 m Sprint
- Bernard Deschamps (°1944) : road race (5th place), time trial (11th place) & 1.000 m Sprint.
- Johnny Schelpe (°1945) : road race (7th place) & time trial (8th place).
- Raphaël Huys (°1939): time trial (11th place) & time trial (15th place).
- National Team ( time trial 97,2 km) with Troch, Deschamps, Schelpe & Huys (silver, after Italy).
- Table Tennis
- Callebaut Jean-Claude (°1947) : Singles & Doubles (with Rudy Bekaert) & team (5th place).
- Bekaert Rudy (°1962) : Singles & Doubles (with Jean-Claude Callebaut) & team (5th place).
- Keyser Jean-Claude (°1957) : Singles & Doubles (with Jean Luc Noltinck) & team (5th place).
- Noltinck Jean Luc (°1960) : Singles & Doubles (with Jean-Claude Noltinck) & team (5th place).
- Leonard Christine (°1941) : Singles & Doubles (with Myriam Trouet) & team (5th place).
- Myriam Trouet (°1946) : Singles & Doubles (with Christine Leonard) & team (5th place).
- Van Hauwermeiren Monique (°1952) : Singles & team (5th place).
- Rywka Herszteyn (°1928) : team (5th place).
