Prior to moving into paratriathlon, Kelly was actively involved in sport particularly distance running and ironman events. She has competed in the
New York Marathon. After being diagnosed as legally blind in January 2015, Kelly contacted the
Australian Paralympic Committee regarding her eligibility to compete in paratriathlon. In February 2015, was classified as a vision impaired (PT5) paratriathlete. On 13 March 2015, Kelly placed first at the ITU World Paratriathlon held at the
Sunshine Coast, Queensland with her guide Laura Cook. Two weeks later, Kelly placed first at the National Paratriathlon Championships in
Redcliffe on 29 March 2015, with a time of 1:16:59. These titles led Kelly to be ranked number 13 in the world. Kelly with guide Jones won her their first World Championship title after a come-from-behind victory at the 2015 World Championships Final in Chicago. Kelly's main aim is to make the Australian paratriathlon team for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. At the
2016 Rio Paralympics, Kelly with Jones as the guide won the gold medal in the Women's PT5 event. It was Australia's first medal in paratriathlon at the
Summer Paralympics. She won the bronze medal with guide Holly Grice in the Women's PTV1 at 2018 World Championships at
Gold Coast, Queensland after battling a stressed left metatarsal in the lead up to the event. At the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne, she finished eighth in the Women's PTVI. Kelly's guide for
2020 Summer Paralympics was Briarna Silk and they trained with Triathlon Australia's High Performance Coach Dan Atkins on the
Gold Coast. She finished sixth in
Women's PTVI with a time of 1:13.01. ==Recognition==