Rick Hellmann

Rick Hellmann
Personal information
Full nameRick Cornell Hellmann
CountryGermany
Born (1988-01-26) 26 January 1988
Berlin, East Germany
HandednessRight
CoachJens Janisch
Men’s singles WH2
Men's doubles WH1–WH2
Highest ranking3 (MS 22 August 2023)
2 (MD with Thomas Wandschneider 12 July 2022)
Current ranking7 (MS)
5 (MD with Thomas Wandschneider) (8 October 2024)
Medal record
Men's para-badminton
Representing  Germany
World Championships
2022 Tokyo Men's doubles
European Para Championships
2023 Rotterdam Men's singles
2023 Rotterdam Men's doubles
European Championships
2018 Rodez Men's singles
2018 Rodez Men's doubles
BWF profile

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]

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

Hellmann 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

World Championships

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 Yoyogi National Gymnasium,
Tokyo, Japan
Thomas Wandschneider Noor Azwan Noorlan
Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli
21–11, 21–15 Gold

European Para Championships

Men's singles WH1

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2023 Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands Luca Olgiati 21–11, 15–21, 21–13 Gold

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

European Championships

Men's singles WH1

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2018 Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France Martin Rooke 14–21, 9–21 Bronze

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)

The 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

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
2022 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Thomas Wandschneider Noor Azwan Noorlan
Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli
22–20, 17–21, 11–21 Runner-up
2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International I Level 1 Thomas Wandschneider Jeong Jae-gun
Yu Soo-young
14–21, 12–21 Runner-up

International tournaments (2011–2021) (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Men's singles WH2

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2019 Denmark Para-Badminton International Daiki Kajiwara 9–21, 9–21 Runner-up
2021 Dubai Para-Badminton International Noor Azwan Noorlan 21–18, 18–21, 12–21 Runner-up

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2021 Uganda Para-Badminton International Thomas Wandschneider Prem Kumar Ale
Abu Hubaida
21–13, 21–13 Winner

References

  1. ^ "HELLMANN Rick Cornell". Olympics. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  2. ^ "Rick Hellman pursues PhD and Paralympics". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Para-WM: Wandschneider und Hellmann sind Weltmeister". www.badminton.de (in German). 2022-11-06. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  5. ^ Niedersachsen, Behinderten Sportverband. "Hellmann und Wandschneider Weltmeister". BSN e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  6. ^ "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". www.badminton.de (in German). 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  7. ^ "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". FinanzNachrichten.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Paralympics, Team Deutschland. "Rick Hellmann: Nach 20 Jahren wird der Paralympics-Traum Realität". www.teamdeutschland-paralympics.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  10. ^ Häfner, Philip (2019-12-28). "Ein Berliner auf dem Weg zur paralympischen Premiere". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  11. ^ "Para Badminton Tournament Structure Bids for Tournaments 2022 Onwards". Badminton World Federation. 29 May 2022.
  12. ^ "BWF Para Tournamentsoftware". Badminton World Federation. 11 July 2022.