David Smith – Volleyball, USA

David Smith was part of the US Olympic volleyball team in the London 2012 games. He and his teammates went on to win the World Cup in 2015 as well. But playing on such an elite team requires quick, perfect communication…

This communication looks slightly different for Smith, though, because he’s nearly 90% deaf. To communicate, Smith must read lips and rely on strong hearing aids to work with his team. He deals with this challenge with such panache, though, that his hearing disability is easy to forget as he helps carry his team to victory.