Rick Hellmann

Rick Hellmann
Personal information
Full name	Rick Cornell Hellmann
Country	Germany
Born	(1988-01-26) 26 January 1988 (age 37) 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 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.