Rick Cornell Hellmann (born 26 January 1988) is a German para-badminton player who is affiliated with the RSC Berlin Sports Club.[1][2][3] Partnered with Thomas Wandschneider, the two were world champions in the men's doubles WH1–WH2 event at the 2022 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships.[4][5]
| Rick Hellmann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Rick Cornell Hellmann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 January 1988 Berlin, East Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Jens Janisch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men’s singles WH2 Men's doubles WH1–WH2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 3 (MS 22 August 2023) 2 (MD with Thomas Wandschneider 12 July 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 7 (MS) 5 (MD with Thomas Wandschneider) (8 October 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| BWF profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He made his Paralympic debut at the 2024 Summer Paralympics where he competed in the men's singles WH2 event and the men's doubles WH1–WH2 event.[6]
Biography
editHellmann was born in Berlin to a German mother and a Congolese father. As a child, he was a competitive swimmer until he suffered paraplegia at the age of eleven, when it was discovered that an additional vein had grown from his heart directly into his spinal cord.[7] He later discovered wheelchair fencing and became a runner-up in the foil event at the German National Wheelchair Fencing Championships.[8][9]
He was introduced to para-badminton in 2014 when members of the RSC Berlin Sports Club approached him and invited him to train with other players.
Hellmann is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Experimental Neurology at the Charité– Berlin University of Medicine.[10]
Achievements
editWorld Championships
editMen's doubles WH1–WH2
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan |
 Thomas Wandschneider
|
 Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli
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21–11, 21–15 |  Gold
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European Para Championships
editMen's singles WH1
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |  Luca Olgiati
|
21–11, 15–21, 21–13 | Gold
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Men's doubles WH1–WH2
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Thomas Wandschneider
|
 Thomas Jakobs David Toupé
|
21–19, 21–18 | Gold
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European Championships
editMen's singles WH1
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France |  Martin Rooke
|
14–21, 9–21 |  Bronze
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Men's doubles WH1–WH2
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France |
Young-chin Mi
|
Martin Rooke Thomas Wandschneider
|
14–21, 19–21 | Bronze
|
BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (1 title, 4 runners-up)
editThe BWF Para Badminton World Circuit – Grade 2, Level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments has been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation from 2022.[11][12]
Men's singles WH2
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Spanish Para-Badminton International | Level 1 |  Daiki Kajiwara
|
9–21, 11–21 |  Runner-up
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Men's doubles WH1–WH2
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Spanish Para-Badminton International II | Level 2 | Thomas Wandschneider
|
Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli
|
21–14, 21–14 |  Winner
|
| 2022 | Bahrain Para-Badminton International | Level 2 | Thomas Wandschneider
|
 Choi Jung-man Kim Jung-jun
|
21–12, 10–21, 11–21 | Runner-up
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| 2022 | 4 Nations Para-Badminton International | Level 1 | Thomas Wandschneider
|
Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli
|
22–20, 17–21, 11–21 | Runner-up
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| 2024 | Spanish Para-Badminton International I | Level 1 | Thomas Wandschneider
|
Jeong Jae-gun Yu Soo-young
|
14–21, 12–21 | Runner-up
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International tournaments (2011–2021) (1 title, 2 runners-up)
editMen's singles WH2
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Denmark Para-Badminton International | Daiki Kajiwara
|
9–21, 9–21 | Runner-up
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| 2021 | Dubai Para-Badminton International | Noor Azwan Noorlan
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21–18, 18–21, 12–21 | Runner-up
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Men's doubles WH1–WH2
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Uganda Para-Badminton International | Thomas Wandschneider
|
 Prem Kumar Ale Abu Hubaida
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21–13, 21–13 | Winner
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References
edit- ^ "HELLMANN Rick Cornell". Olympics. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Rick Hellman pursues PhD and Paralympics". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ V, Badminton RSC Berlin e (2017-11-17). "Rick Hellmann (RSC Berlin) fährt zur WM nach Südkorea". Rollstuhl-Sport-Club Berlin e. V. (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Para-WM: Wandschneider und Hellmann sind Weltmeister". www.badminton.de (in German). 2022-11-06. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Niedersachsen, Behinderten Sportverband. "Hellmann und Wandschneider Weltmeister". BSN e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". www.badminton.de (in German). 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". FinanzNachrichten.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Ottmann, Mathias (2024-08-30). "Rollstuhl-Badminton-Spieler Rick Hellmann: "Ich bin 36 – das ist im Rollstuhl-Sport noch kein Alter"". GQ Germany (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Paralympics, Team Deutschland. "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". www.teamdeutschland-paralympics.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Häfner, Philip (2019-12-28). "Ein Berliner auf dem Weg zur paralympischen Premiere". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Para Badminton Tournament Structure Bids for Tournaments 2022 Onwards". Badminton World Federation. 29 May 2022.
- ^ "BWF Para Tournamentsoftware". Badminton World Federation. 11 July 2022.