Kelly Cartwright

Personal

Kelly Anne Cartwright was born on 22 April 1989, and is from Geelong. 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. She climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in 2009. As of 2012, she works as a receptionist. She is also an Australian Paralympic Committee and Make-A-Wish Foundation ambassador. In 2012, she was named one of Zoo Weekly's sexiest Paralympians.

Cartwright appeared on the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. She has a son (born 4 January 2016) with her partner Ryan.

Athletics

Cartwright is a T42 classified runner. She is coached by Tim Matthews. In 2008, she had a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport. As of 2012, she has a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport.

Cartwright started competing in 2007. She first represented Australia in 2008. She represented Australia at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. 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, 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.

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."