Rick Cornell Hellmann

Started: He began playing Para badminton in 2014. (paralympic.org, 29 May 2018) Reason: He was originally involved in swimming and running before his accident. After acquiring his impairment, he first took up wheelchair fencing but later gave up the sport due to health reasons and to focus on his education while at secondary school. When he returned to Para sport, he tried wheelchair basketball and Para table tennis before taking up Para badminton at university. "In both [wheelchair fencing and badminton], it's the dominant right hand. The movements are somewhat the same - back-and-forth. My experience in fencing does help me reach for the shuttle. A sabre is very heavy, much heavier than a badminton racket, and that has helped me as well." (dbs-npc.de, 07 Aug 2024; badminton.de, 11 Sep 2023; paralympic.org, 29 May 2018) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (dbs-npc.de, 07 Aug 2024) Awards: In 2023 he was named Male Para Athlete of the Year by Badminton Sport magazine in collaboration with the German Badminton Association [DBV]. (badminton.de, 04 Mar 2024) He and Thomas Wandschneider were named Para Badminton Pair of the Year for 2022 by the Badminton World Federation [BWF]. (BWF TV YouTube channel, 05 Jan 2023) Additional Info: PARALYMPIC DREAM His first experience with Para sport was in wheelchair fencing and he had hoped to compete in the sport at the Paralympic Games. However, he instead decided to step away from Para sport in order to focus on health issues and his studies. He took up Para badminton in 2014 when he was invited to attend a trial session at the RSC Berlin club in Germany. "The thought of the Paralympics [in wheelchair fencing] came up in Athens in 2004. But in 2008, my high school diploma and in 2012 my master's degree got in the way. [On making the team for Paris 2024] I have hardly felt any nervousness so far. Maybe that only sets in when you see the Paralympic Village or the competition venues. [On medalling at Paris 2024] That is something that we as a team have set as a clear goal." (dbs-npc.de, 07 Aug 2024; paralympic.org, 29 May 2018) DOUBLES PARTNER He began teaming with men's doubles partner Thomas Wandschneider after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The pair have gone on to claim the men's doubles title at the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, and the 2023 European Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. "I didn't necessarily expect the world championship title, but I hadn't completely ruled it out at that point. It was just a bit surprising to win it before the European championship, but of course I don't want to complain. We had no world ranking points at the time. But we absolutely had to get off to a good start, because if we hadn't been among the top 12 doubles teams in the world by the start of the qualification period for Paris [2024], we wouldn't have been allowed to play in major elite tournaments, and qualifying for the Paralympics would have made it extremely difficult in both singles and doubles." (dbs-npc.de, 07 Aug 2024) OTHER ACTIVITIES He works as a doctoral student researcher in the department for spinal cord injuries at Charite Berlin University of Medicine in Germany. "I am of course also interested in this area because I have such an injury myself." (dbs-npc.de, 07 Aug 2024; neuepresse.de, 06 Feb 2024) FURTHER EDUCATION He studied for a PhD in experimental neurosciences at the Free University of Berlin in Germany. (paralympic.org, 29 May 2018)