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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Leah Hayes on being named | ||||||
| 4 | 2018 SportsKid of the Year by Sports Illustrated Kids; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Leah Hayes began swimming at the age of eight; she | ||||||
| 6 | won her first state title at age nine in the 50-meter | ||||||
| 7 | breaststroke; at the age of ten, she set five national age | ||||||
| 8 | group (NAG) records over two meets; she owns six national | ||||||
| 9 | age-group records, two of which she set this year; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, At the Illinois Long Course Age Group | ||||||
| 11 | Championships, Leah Hayes broke the 200-meter freestyle NAG for | ||||||
| 12 | ages ten and under by more than a second; a day later, she took | ||||||
| 13 | the 50 free record; the next week, at the Central Mega Zone 14 & | ||||||
| 14 | Under Championships, she set marks in the 100-meter | ||||||
| 15 | freestyle, 50-meter breaststroke, and 200-meter individual | ||||||
| 16 | medley (IM); the latter record had stood for 13 years; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, In August, at a USA Swimming Futures Championship, | ||||||
| 18 | Leah Hayes competed in a field that included 20 and 21-year-old | ||||||
| 19 | collegiate swimmers, and she won the 200-meter IM; her next | ||||||
| 20 | goal is the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo; two months after the Games, | ||||||
| 21 | she will turn 15; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Leah Hayes competes with respect; she | ||||||
| 2 | congratulates each swimmer after a race and gives trophies or | ||||||
| 3 | ribbons to friends and fellow competitors; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, There was a time when Leah Hayes was not so | ||||||
| 5 | confident; when she was six, she began losing her hair and was | ||||||
| 6 | diagnosed with alopecia universalis; after struggling with its | ||||||
| 7 | effects for several years, she now embraces her look and uses | ||||||
| 8 | her success in the pool to spread the message, "Don't let | ||||||
| 9 | anything hold you back"; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Leah Hayes lives in Sugar Grove, where she enjoys | ||||||
| 11 | spending time with her friends and binge-watching Netflix; she | ||||||
| 12 | is a devoted patron of Chipotle; her ability to win races makes | ||||||
| 13 | her a great swimmer; her ability to do it with grace and | ||||||
| 14 | positivity makes her a great role model; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 16 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 17 | we congratulate Leah Hayes on being named 2018 SportsKid of the | ||||||
| 18 | Year by Sports Illustrated Kids and wish her success in all of | ||||||
| 19 | her future endeavors; and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to Leah Hayes as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 22 | respect.
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