Rick Hellmann

Rick Hellmann
Personal information
Full nameRick Cornell Hellmann
CountryGermany
Born (1988-01-26) 26 January 1988 (age 36)
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
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tokyo Men's doubles
European Para Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Rotterdam Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Rotterdam Men's doubles
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Rodez Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 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 		Germany Thomas Wandschneider Malaysia Noor Azwan Noorlan
Malaysia Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli 		21–11, 21–15 Gold Gold

European Para Championships

Men's singles WH1

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

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2023 Rotterdam Ahoy,
Rotterdam, Netherlands 		Germany Thomas Wandschneider France Thomas Jakobs
France David Toupé 		21–19, 21–18 Gold Gold

European Championships

Men's singles WH1

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

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Amphitheatre Gymnasium,
Rodez, France 		Germany Young-chin Mi England Martin Rooke
Germany Thomas Wandschneider 		14–21, 19–21 Bronze 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 Japan Daiki Kajiwara 9–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 Spanish Para-Badminton International II Level 2 Germany Thomas Wandschneider Malaysia Noor Azwan Noorlan
Malaysia Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli 		21–14, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2022 Bahrain Para-Badminton International Level 2 Germany Thomas Wandschneider South Korea Choi Jung-man
South Korea Kim Jung-jun 		21–12, 10–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2022 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Germany Thomas Wandschneider Malaysia Noor Azwan Noorlan
Malaysia Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli 		22–20, 17–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International I Level 1 Germany Thomas Wandschneider South Korea Jeong Jae-gun
South Korea Yu Soo-young 		14–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 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 Japan Daiki Kajiwara 9–21, 9–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2021 Dubai Para-Badminton International Malaysia Noor Azwan Noorlan 21–18, 18–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2021 Uganda Para-Badminton International Germany Thomas Wandschneider India Prem Kumar Ale
India Abu Hubaida 		21–13, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) 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.