Cartwright competes in Women's Long Jump- F42/44 Final at the Paralympic Games in London
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Silver medalist Stef Reid of Great Britain, Gold medalist Kelly Cartwright of Australia and bronze medalist Marie-Amelie Le Fur of France pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's Long Jump - F42/44 Final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
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Born in 1989, Cartwright had her right leg amputated aged 15 after she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of tissue cancer in her knee. She started to train with her artificial leg in 2006 in her hometown of Geelong.
The Australian’s first major international appearance was the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games where she finished sixth in the 100m final (18.36), an experience she described as the one of the best moments of her career.
Trained by three-time Paralympic champion Tim Matthews, Cartwright won two gold medals at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship in New Zealand. She set a new world record in the long jump (4.19m) and stormed to victory in the 100m (16.46).
She made an excellent start to 2012 running 35.98 to break the 200m world record at a meeting in Adelaide.
At London 2012 she added 19cm to her own long jump world record (4.38m) to take gold ahead of British rival Stef Reid, whilst she took 100m (16,46) silver just behind her Italian rival Martina Caironi who took gold.
Away from the track in 2009 Cartwright succeeded in climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, as a part of an event to raise funds for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation - a charity which supports children's hospitals in Australia and East Timor.
Asked about her impairment, Cartwright said “You can do everything that you want to do. Regardless of whether you have a disability or not.”
