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"Tharon Drake is among the top Paralympic swimmers in the world but he hasn't\u00A0 forgotten his roots.Drake is volunteering in his hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico, as an ambassador for the U.S. Olympic Committee's Team for Tomorrow program.But it's been a long journey to get here.During his freshman year at Hobbs High School, Drake suffered serious memory loss.\u00A0He woke up one day and couldn't remember anything.\"It was starting all over again in life,\" Drake said. \"Everything I had known I lost. I didn't know my name. Didn't know my parents names.\"Months later, Drake became blind.\u00A0Within one year, Drake went from being a kid without a worry in the world to being in hospitals, wondering what was wrong.\"I got really sick. My immune system was compromised and I had other neurological disorders,\" Drake said.Doctors pinpointed the problem as complications from vaccinations.\u00A0It was time to move forward and Drake had a decision to make.\"Life is going to move on with or without me, so I need a way to conquer this and I'm not going to let this conquer me,\" Drake said. \"That was a pivotal moment in life.\"The pool was a game changer.\"Swimming has been an outlet for me. For hard times, good times and really for my health,\" Drake said.Drake is so good, people have accused him of not being blind. He swims with some of the best in the world at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.\u00A0He holds the U.S. Paralympic record in the 100 meter breast stroke and even won a silver medal at the Paralympic World Championships in 2015.\"It's just amazing to think you go from the kid who's afraid of the water to now you're one of the best swimmers not just in the state, or the nation, but in the entire world,\" Drake said.Drake is currently a favorite to represent the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Brazil in September."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-swimmer-overcomes-disability-after-starting-all-over/5071643>