Ahmed Kelly

Ahmed Kelly (born 18 November 1991) is an Iraqi-born Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics,[1] and he competed at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Ahmed Kelly
2016 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Kelly
Personal information
Full nameAhmed Kelly
Nickname(s)Liquid Nails
Nationality Australia
Born (1991-11-18) 18 November 1991
Baghdad, Iraq
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClassificationsS4, SB3, SM4

Personal
Kelly at the 2012 London Paralympics

Nicknamed "Liquid Nails", Kelly was born on 18 November 1991 in Baghdad, Iraq with a double arm and leg deficiency.[2][3] Until the age of seven, he lived in at Baghdad's Mother Teresa Orphanage with his brother, Emmanuel who has a similar disability.[2][3][4] Moira Kelly, on her own, met the brothers in 1998 and with her parents' help, brought them to Victoria, Australia in 2000 to get medical care for their disability. Kelly's treatment involved having parts of his legs removed that were deficient, and then being fitted with prosthesis.[2] Moira adopted the brothers in 2000.[4] In 2009, he became an Australian citizen.[4] He attended Carey Baptist Grammar School in Kew, Melbourne.[5] He was featured on the ABC's "Race to London".[5] In 2013 he commenced university studying Bachelor of Arts at La Trobe University in Melbourne and dreams of working in the media as a sports commentator in the future.

His brother has appeared on Australia's X-Factor.[6] He has Bangladeshi-born twin sisters who were conjoined at birth. They attend his swimming meets to cheer for Kelly.[2][4][6]

Kelly played Australian rules football for a team in Kilmore, Victoria. When playing, he did not wear prosthetic arms.[2][3][4] He played Australian Rules for his school's Year 7/8 team.[3]

Swimming

Kelly is an S4, SB3 (breaststroke), SM4 (individual medley) classified swimmer who has been based at the Melbourne Vicentre Swimming Club and coached by Brad Harris since 2009.[2] As of 2016, he has a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport.[7][8]

He started swimming in 2008, after making a switch from Australian rules football.[2]

Kelly first represented Australia in 2009 at the Darwin, Northern Territory hosted Oceania Paralympic Championships.[2]

In 2009, he competed in the Arafura Games.[3] He competed in the 2010 Australian National Championships, finishing first in the 100 metre breaststroke event in world record time.

He repeated this feat in 2011 where he again set a world record.[2] He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in four events.[9][10][6] His best result was fourth in the Men's 50m Breaststroke SB3.[11][2]

At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, he competed in five events - Men's 50m Freestyle S4, Men's 150m Individual Medley SM4, Men's 50m Backstroke, Men's 50m Breaststroke SB3 and Men's 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points. His best result was sixth in the Men's 50m Breaststroke SB3.[11]

Kelly competed in four events at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. He placed seventh in Men's 50m Breaststroke SB3 and sixth in Mixed 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay (20 points). He also competed in Men's 50m Backstroke S3 and Men's 150m Individual Medley SM4 but didn't progress to the finals.[12]

At the 2019 world Para Swimming Championships, London, he won the silver medal in the Men's 150m Individual Medley SM3.[13]

References
  1. "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. "Ahmed Kelly". APC Corporate. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  3. Humphris, Kate (14 May 2009). "Swimming through the rough -". ABC Darwin — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  4. "A victory inspired by his twin sisters' smiles". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  5. McArthur, Grant (22 March 2012). "Ahmed Kelly makes his mark against all odds". Melbourne, Victoria: Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. "Ahmed Kelly". Victorian Institute of Sport website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  7. "Victorian Athletes Selected for London Olympics and Paralympics". VicSport. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  8. "Paralympic swim team revealed". Australian Paralympic Committee. 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  9. "Cowdrey Leads Paralympic Swin Team". ABC. 10 July 2012.
  10. "Ahmed Kelly". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  11. "Ahmed Kelly". Rio Paralympics Official Results. Rio 2016 Paralympics. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  12. "Ahmed Kelly". 2019 World Para Swimming Championships 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
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