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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 19, 1992 Canyon, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Breaststroke, freestyle, individual medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tharon Drake is an American Paralympic swimmer.
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 19, 1992 Canyon, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Breaststroke, freestyle, individual medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tharon Drake is an American Paralympic swimmer.
Tharon began swimming at the age of 9. He swam on the Hobbs High School and Caprock Swim Team, both in Hobbs, New Mexico. In November 2007, Drake experienced amnesia that was onset from routine vaccines. It was determined that an existing genetic condition compromised his immune system and his body couldn't fight off the viruses from the vaccines. [2] Through help of medication, he was able to overcome the amnesia. In February 2008, Drake noticed some changes in his vision, and by June 2008, he was totally blind, without any perception of light. [3]
After graduating high school in 2011, Tharon continued his path in swimming and qualified as an alternate for the 2012 London Paralympics. [4]
He is the current U.S. record-holder in S11 class in 50m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke, 50m and 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley (short course); 50m and 100m breaststroke (short course); 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke (long course). [1] Drake won silver in the 100m breast at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championship. Drake lost his eyesight following complications from a routine vaccination. [5]
At the 2016 Paralympic Games, Drake won a silver medal in the 400m Freestyle S11. [6] [7] Drake's time in the finals was 4:40.96, behind USA teammate Brad Snyder. [8] Drake also won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke SB11 [9] with a time of 1:11.50. [10]
Drake competed in the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships held in Mexico City, Mexico. Drake won a gold medal in the 400m Freestyle S11 with a finish time of 4:54.30, a gold medal in the 100m Breaststroke SB11 with a finish time of 1:15.70, and a silver medal in the 200m Individual Medley SM11 with a finish time of 2:41.70.
Competing in the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in Cairns Australia, Drake won Silver in the 100m breaststroke, and the 200m individual medley. [11]
Drake became assistant coach of the Catawba College Men's and Women's Swim Team in 2018. He became the first blind coach in the NCAA.
in 2020 announced his retirement from swimming. [12] Drake became a swim coach for the Tsunami swim club and the Adaptive Avengers at the CORE in Hobbs, NM. Tharon has begun working on his Speaking career as well as his Coaching career.
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-born American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at six Paralympic Games, winning 30 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
S11, SB11, SM11 are para-swimming classifications for blind swimmers.
Bradley Warren Snyder is an American professional swimmer on the United States Paralympic team who competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, and the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. Snyder won two Gold medals and one Silver at London, three Gold and one Silver at Rio, and one gold medal at Tokyo. He lost his eyesight from an IED explosion while serving in the United States Navy in Afghanistan. Among fully blind swimmers, he is the current world record holder for the 100-meter freestyle events.
Sean Russo is an Australian swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Junichi Kawai is a Japanese Paralympic swimmer competing mainly in category S11 events.
Matthew Whorwood is a British Paralympic swimmer. Whorwood, who swims mainly in S6 events has competed in two Paralympic Games winning three bronze medals in freestyle and breastroke events.
Alexander "Alec" Robert Elliot is a Canadian competitive Paralympic swimmer.
The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships was the seventh IPC Swimming World Championships, an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and lasted from 12 to 18 August. Around 530 athletes competed from 57 different countries. The event was held in the Parc Jean Drapeau Aquatic Complex located at the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. 172 events were contested with 43 new world records set.
The 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships was an international swimming competition held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from the 4th to the 10th of August. Around 375 athletes from 35 different countries attended. The venue, the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, also held the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships.
Timothy Malcolm Disken, is an Australian paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships and won bronze in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle S9, a silver medal in the men's S9 50m freestyle and a bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley SM9. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Thomas Young is a British Paralympic swimmer. He represented Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics and has won medals at both the long course and short course World Championships.
The 2016 IPC Swimming European Championships was an international swimming competition. It was held in Funchal, Madeira running from 30 April to 7 May. Around 450 athletes from 50 different countries attended the competition. This was the last major swimming tournament for disabled athletes prior to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, and acted as a qualifying event for the Rio Games. To increase the possibility of qualification for top swimmers, the championships was made an Open tournament allowing competitors from countries outside Europe to compete.
Tucker Dupree is an American swimmer. He won three medals at the 2012 Paralympic Games and one at the 2016 Paralympic Games. He has also set multiple world and American records in swimming. He competes in the Paralympic classes S12/SB12/SM12.
Liam Bekric is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with a vision impairment. Bekric represented Australia for the first time at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Rebecca Meyers is an American Paralympic swimmer. She won three gold and one silver medals in Rio 2016. She was also a member of the 2012 Paralympic Team, and won a silver and bronze in London. Rebecca Meyers has also competed at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics which was held in Taiwan, which is also her only appearance at the Deaflympics. She also clinched a bronze medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay event in the 2009 Summer Deaflympics.
Nicole Turner, of Portarlington, Laois, is an Irish para-swimmer, competing mainly in the S6, short stature category.
Anastasia "Nastiya" Gorbenko is an Israeli competitive swimmer. She competes in the backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and medley. She has won 8 World and European championships gold medals, competed at 2 Olympic finals, broken most of the Israeli national records for women and mixed relays, and is considered to be Israel's greatest swimmer of all time. In February 2024, Gorbenko won a silver medal at the Doha World Championships in the women's 400 meters individual medley. Gorbenko represented Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in swimming in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x200m freestyle relay, and mixed 4x100m medley relay.
Colleen Young is an American swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian earning a bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games, as well as a bronze and a silver medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games. She has also earned multiple gold, silver and bronze medals at World Championships. She competes in the Paralympic class S13. In 2016 she set a Pan-American record in the 100m breaststroke.
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