EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Jesus Jasso, a 17-year old junior at Burges High School, will be representing Team USA at the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.
“I feel so great and so nervous,” Jasso said. “The Olympics. I am so proud of myself, my family and my coaches. Thank you for all your support, I worked so hard.”
Jasso has severe loss of hearing on both of his ears, as well as speech impediment. But despite the adversity, he’s already managed to win two gold medals as a national champion, and now seeks to win at the biggest stage of his young career yet.
“Oh my God I’m so proud of him. Like the coach mentioned, his balance is kind of off because of his disability. So he’s come a long way from standing on one leg, to doing kicks with one leg, to coming to this level,” said Claudia Jasso, his mom. “He has no fear. Whatever you put in front of him, he’s going to try it. That’s him.”
Jasso’s parents and his twin brother, Angel Jasso, have been a great support system throughout his life, but his journey in taekwondo has showcased his ability to not only navigate the challenges of his disability, but also to transcend them.
“It’s been very fun training with my brother every day. We come and train hard. Seeing him grow to become stronger mentally, physically, knowing that his disability isn’t a challenge to him. And I’m just very proud of him, seeing him grow, to how he is now,” Jasso’s brother said.
Jasso and his brother started practicing taekwondo together during the Covid 19- pandemic, when businesses were allowed to open their doors back up.
Jasso’s brother does not have a disability and immediately began having success winning in local tournaments. But for Jasso, the learning curve was wider because of his condition, as he struggled to earn a victory as they went through state and regional tournaments competing against non-disabled fighters.
That all changed in 2022 when he won gold on the national stage at the 2022 (Amateur Athletic Union) Taekwondo National Championships.
“When I went back home to my taekwondo home gym, I trained hard hard with my brother and my coach. Train. Train. And one day I won nationals in championships in Las Vegas. It made me so happy. I even cried. I was so proud of myself, my mom and dad, and my coach,” Jasso said.
Then again in 2024, Jasso again won gold at the USA Taekwondo National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, where he clinched a spot on Team USA’s Deaflympics team.
The challenge for Jasso is that he has a harder time understanding what he’s being taught, which was also a challenge for his coach, Oscar De La Parra, who had never coached a deaf kid.
“At first it was a little bit hard to teach him, but we kind of developed our own language between me and him. I learned a little bit of hand signaling that he taught me, (but) I also had to invent my own ways to tell him our combinations,” De La Parra said.
De La Parra said they designate simple numbers like 1 and 2 for certain kick combinations he tells him to use during a live match, because Jasso can’t easily hear and understand his coaching tips like fighters who aren’t deaf.
Jasso also struggled with balance when he first began practicing taekwondo because of his condition, but through all that adversity they have found a way for him to start racking wins
“One thing about Chuy (Jasso’s nickname) is he’s a warrior, he’s a fighter. He’s gonna figure out one way or another to get it right and win. And that’s what I love about Chuy, his spirit. He has a warrior’s spirit,” De La Parra said.
Jasso’s family have set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe where you can support his journey to Gold.
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