SENATE MEMORIAL 91
53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017
INTRODUCED BY
Gay G. Kernan
A MEMORIAL
RECOGNIZING THARON DRAKE FOR FOLLOWING HIS DREAMS AND FOR HIS PARALYMPIC SWIMMING ACHIEVEMENTS.
WHEREAS, Tharon Drake is a remarkable young athlete who lives in Hobbs; and
WHEREAS, in November 2007, Tharon developed retrograde and anterograde amnesia that lasted six months; and
WHEREAS, in February 2008, Tharon began losing his eyesight and had completely lost his eyesight by June 2008; and
WHEREAS, undaunted, Tharon decided to continue to follow his dreams; and
WHEREAS, the support of his family, including Shawn Drake, Kimberly Hammed, Kaitlyn Drake, Tyler Drake and Karen Drake, and of many others made Tharon's journey possible; and
WHEREAS, Tharon began to participate in paralympic swimming, an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities such as visual impairment; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, Tharon missed making the paralympic swimming team for the London Paralympic games by one spot; and
WHEREAS, for the next four years, through ups and downs, Tharon made his dream come true by qualifying for the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro; and
WHEREAS, Tharon won silver medals at the 2016 Paralympic games in the one-hundred-meter breaststroke and the four-hundred-meter freestyle; and
WHEREAS, Tharon also competed in the one-hundred-meter freestyle, the one-hundred-meter breaststroke and the two-hundred-meter individual medley at the Rio de Janeiro games; and
WHEREAS, Tharon currently holds the United States paralympic swimming team records for the S11 disability swimming classification for blind swimmers in twelve events; and
WHEREAS, Tharon also holds the United States paralympic swimming team records in the fifty-meter and the one-hundred-meter breaststroke and in the four-by-one-hundred-meter medley relay; and
WHEREAS, when Tharon returned from Rio de Janeiro, he wanted to give back to his community and did so by speaking at every school in Hobbs and sharing his story of overcoming his visual impairment and following his dream; and
WHEREAS, over ten thousand people and eight thousand children have touched Tharon's two silver medals; and
WHEREAS, Tharon continues to let any person touch his medals with the simple promise that the person will believe that the person can do anything that the person puts the person's mind to; and
WHEREAS, Tharon was named a New Mexico legend of the pool by the New Mexico activities association and received awards from the city of Hobbs and the Hobbs municipal school district;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Tharon Drake be recognized for his courage and drive to follow his dreams to become a paralympic athlete; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Tharon be congratulated for his significant achievement as a winner of two silver medals in the swimming competition at the Rio de Janeiro paralympic games; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Tharon Drake.
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