Katie Kelly (paratriathlete)
Kelly in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Kathleen Margaret Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |
 Australian |
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| Born |
6 February 1975 Casino, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paratriathlon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Kathleen Margaret (Katie) Kelly OAM (born 6 February 1975) is an Australian paratriathlete, who has a degenerative disease known as Usher syndrome. Kelly began competing in the PT5 paratriathlon classification in February 2015 when her condition deteriorated to a legally blind state. She has just 30 per cent of her vision. With her guide Michellie Jones, Kelly won gold medals at the 2015 ITU World Championships and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Kelly was born on 6 February 1975 in Casino, New South Wales. She is one of five siblings, all of whom were heavily into sport. At the age of five she was diagnosed with poor hearing and subsequently has worn hearing aids. In her mid-20s diagnosed with Usher Syndrome by that an ophthalmologist. The loss of vision meant that she forfeited her drivers licence. In January 2015, she was declared legally blind by an ophthalmologist.
Kelly was educated St Ursula's College, Toowoomba. She completed a Bachelor of Sports Management from Griffith University. In 2009, she gained her Masters from the University of Technology Sydney.
Kelly has worked in the sports industry in roles with the National Rugby League, Melbourne Storm, ANZ Stadium, Newcastle Knights, Northern Territory Dept Sport and Recreation and Athletics NSW. She has also done pro bono work as media liaison officer for the Australian Blind Cricket Team and was a former media liaison officer for the Australian Deaflympic team at the 2005 Deaflympics that was held in Melbourne and was also a DSA board member.
In 2017, Kelly established the Sport Access Foundation to assist people with a disability with access to sport and recreational facilities. Kelly formally lived in Canberra and trained under Head Coach of the Australian Paralympic team, Corey Bacon, with Jones as guide during this period, she won every race she entered. After the Rio Paralympics Kelly ended her association with Bacon and now resides on The Gold Coast, Australia where she trains with local coach Dan Atkins, the relationship has yet to see success, with Kelly slipping out of the top 10 world rankings, She is currently 15th in the world.
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