Paralympic swim team named

Monday, 16 July 2012

The Australian Paralympic Committee unveiled the Paralympic Swimming Team last week, which included two VIS athletes, Ahmed Kelly and Matthew Haanappel.

For Ahmed Kelly, being selected to represent Australia at the London 2012 Paralympics is a dream come true. ‘I've got goose bumps down my spine. It's just an amazing feeling.  I have worked so hard for it,’ he said.

Ahmed was born in war-torn Iraq with severe limb deficiencies as a result of his parents' exposure to chemical weapons. Children First Foundation boss Moira Kelly found Ahmed and his brother Emmanuel in an orphanage and brought them to Melbourne for surgery, and then adopted them.

Ahmed says he wants to win gold for Australia as a gesture of thanks to a nation he now calls home. ‘It'll be a great way to say thank you to Australia,’ he said. ‘I just can't wait to make my dream a reality.’

Despite only having recently burst onto the scene, Matthew Haanappel has set his sights high.  Aiming to win Paralympic gold, the talented young swimmer will be competing in his first Paralympic Games in London.

The swim team heads to the UK on 10 August for the Australian Paralympic Committee’s pre-Games staging camp in Cardiff, before the Games begin on 29 August 2012.