Kelly Cartwright (born 22 April 1989) is an Australian athlete and powerlifter. She won two medals at the

London 2012 Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Game ...

, and represented Australia in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

Personal

Kelly Anne Cartwright was born on 22 April 1989 and is from

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. When she was fifteen she had a form of cancer called synovial sarcoma. Part of her right leg needed to be amputated due to the cancer because chemotherapy was not an option. She has a prosthetic leg that she started using in high school. Her regular walking leg cost A$62,000 and needed to be charged every night. Before losing her leg she played netball. Cartwright climbed

Mt Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

in 2009. she worked as a receptionist. She is also an ambassador for the Australian Paralympic Committee and Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2012 she was named one of '' Zoo Weekly''s sexiest Paralympian. Cartwright appeared on the fifteenth season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. In 2016 Cartwright and her partner, Ryan, became parents to a son.

Athletics

Cartwright is a T42 classified runner and is coached by Tim Matthews. In 2008, she was awarded a scholarship with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

and in 2012 had a scholarship with the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...

. Cartwright started competing in 2007 and first represented Australia in 2008 at the

2008 Beijing Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

. Making the 100-metre finals, she finished sixth racing on a carbon fibre leg. Going into the Games, she trained in Geelong. She competed in the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

where she finished first while setting a world record in the 100 m event. At the 2012 Australian Athletics Championships, she set a world record of 16.26 seconds in the 100 m T42 event. In 2012 she was the world champion in the T42 100 m and long jump events. At the 2012 London Paralympics she won a gold medal in the Women's Long Jump F42/44 event and a silver medal in the Women's 100 m T42 event.

Powerlifting

Cartwright changed sports to para powerlifting due to a serious ankle injury after the 2012 Paralympics. She competed at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

where she came 7th in the lightweight event.

Recognition

Cartwright was a finalist for the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."

Gallery

020912 - Kelly Cartwright - 3b - 2012 Summer Paralympics (01).jpg, Cartwright at the London Paralympics 020912 - Kelly Cartwright - 3b - 2012 Summer Paralympics (02).jpg, Cartwright at the London Paralympics AustralianParalympianOfTheYear 075.JPG, Cartwright with athletics teammates at the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year ceremony

References

External links

*
Kelly Cartwright
at Australian Athletics Historical Results

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Kelly 1989 births Living people Australian female sprinters Australian female long jumpers Australian amputees Sportspeople with limb difference Amputee category Paralympic competitors Paralympic athletes of Australia Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics World record holders in Paralympic athletics Sportspeople from Geelong Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia) Victorian Institute of Sport alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women Powerlifters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia