Paralympic Sport Awards

Christian Egli receiving the Paralympic Award for Best Official from IPC Governing Board Member Rita van Driel during the 2011 Paralympic Awards Gala in Beijing, China © • IPC Kojin Nakakita, coach of the Japan Ice Sledge Hockey Team receives the Paralympic Award for Best Team during the 2011 Paralympic Awards Gala in Beijing, China © • IPC

Related Videos

Paralympic Awards 2011 - Best Female Athlete Verena Bentele

Paralympic Awards 2011 - Best Male Athlete Gerd Schoenfelder

Paralympic Awards 2011 - Best Team Performance

Paralympic Awards 2011 - Best Games Debut Oleksandra Kononova

Related Press Releases

Verena Bentele Named Best Female Athlete by IPC

Germany’s Schoenfelder Tabbed Best Male Athlete by IPC Voters

Japan’s Ice Sledge Hockey Squad Wins IPC’s Best Team Award

Switzerland’s Egli Wins IPC’s Exemplary Paralympic Games Official Award

Ukraine’s Kononova Awarded IPC’s Best Paralympic Games Debut

Paralympic Sport Awards honour top athletes and officials, recognizing their achievements from the most recent Paralympic Games. There are five award categories: Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Team Performance, Best Paralympic Games Debut and Exemplary Paralympic Games Official. All National Paralympic Committees and International Paralympic Sports Federations are eligible to submit nominations. For a list of past award winners click here.

Paralympic Sport Awards 2013

The 2013 awards will be presented on 23 November in Athens, Greece. A record number of entries have been received this year and the shortlist is as follows for each of the following categories:

Best Female

Yunidis Castillo (CUB)

• Became Cuba’s most successful Paralympian after winning all three sprint golds in world record times.

Terezinha Guilhermina (BRA)

• Won 100m gold in a world record and broke the Paralympic record to secure 200m gold.

Zarah Nemati (IRI)

• First Iranian woman to win either Olympic or Paralympic gold after success in the women's individual recurve W1/W2.

Esther Vergeer (NED)

• Finished one of Paralympic sport’s most successful ever careers with a fourth wheelchair tennis singles title and gold in the doubles.

Yu Chui Lee (HKG)

• Claimed two individual gold medals and one team bronze in wheelchair fencing and was also re-elected to the IPC Athletes’ Council.

Best Male

Patrick Anderson (CAN)

• Spearheaded Canada to wheelchair basketball gold by posting career best numbers and finishing as the tournament’s top scorer.

Ryley Batt (AUS)

• Widely regarded as the world’s best wheelchair rugby player after leading Australia to gold.

Daniel Dias (BRA)

• Brazil’s top performing athlete winning six golds is as many events in the Aquatics Centre

Heinrich Popow (GER)

• Won 100m gold as well as bronze in the 200m and 4x100m T42-46 relay.

David Weir (GBR)

• Competed on eight days and was unbeatable winning four golds in as many events in what is widely regarded as one of Paralympic sport’s most competitive classes.

Best Female Games Debut

Johanna Benson (NAM)

• Became the first Namibian to win gold in either the Olympic or Paralympic Games after success in the 200m T37. Also won 100m T37 silver.

Michelle George (BEL)

• Won two equestrian gold medals in a sport dominated by the host nation and was Belgium’s first Paralympic equestrian gold medal winner since the sport was added to the programme in 1996.

Marlou Van Rhijn (NED)

• Followed up winning 100m and 200m European titles in June, by claiming 100m silver and 200m gold at the Paralympics. She also set new world records for both sprints in London.

Best Male Games Debut

Raymond Martin (USA)

• Unbeatable winning gold in all four track events he took part in, breaking the Paralympic record in the 100m and 200m.

Jonnie Peacock (GBR)

• Broke the 100m world record in June and in August silenced 80,000 people chanting his name before taking Paralympic gold in the same event.

Alex Zanardi (ITA)

• The former Formula 1 driver won two individual handclying gold medals at Brand Hatch as well as team silver.

Best Team

Australia Wheelchair Rugby

• Took gold with victory over Canada having won silver in 2008.

Brazil Football 5-a-side

• Won their third successive gold in this event without even conceding a goal.

Canada Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

• Claimed their third gold in the last four Paralympics by beating Australia in the final.

Best Official

Edilson Rocha Tubiba (BRA)

• Brazilian Chef of Mission responsible for 182 athletes in 18 different sports who finished seventh place in the medals table – the best ever performance by a Brazilian team.

Sylvia Sekowska (GER)

• Head Table Official for wheelchair rugby who, in the lead-up to the Games developed and delivered a comprehensive training project that enabled a pool of qualified National Technical Officials from the host country to be selected for the Games.

Louis Barbeau (CAN)

• Through the UCI and LOCOG, Louis was responsible for the London 2012 cycling course, which proved to be a challenging and fantastic event.

Paralympic Sport Awards 2011

Best Male Athlete

The German Alpine Skiier Gerd Schoenfelder took home four golds and one silver in his sixth and final Paralympic Games in Vancouver. In a glittering career he won 22 Paralympic medals, including 16 golds.

Best Female Athlete

Verena Bentele, a German visually impaired Nordic Skier, won five gold medals in as many races at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. She stood atop the podium in Biathlon (3km Pursuit, 12.5km Pursuit) and Cross-Country Skiing (15km Freestyle, 5km Classic Style, Sprint Classic Style), taking her total Paralympic Games medal count to 16, including an impressive 12 golds.

In 2011 she retired as the most successful Paralympic biathlete ever.

Best Team Performance

Despite losing 2-0 to USA in the gold medal match, Japan's Ice Sledge Hockey Team picked up an unlikely silver medal in Ice Sledge Hockey. The team caused a huge upset in the semi-finals beating hosts and competition favourites Canada 3-1.

Best Games Debut

Aged 19 at the time of the Vancouver Games, Ukranian Oleksandra Kononova won three gold medals and one silver in Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing events.

Best Official

As the IPC Technical Delegate for Cross Country Skiing and an assistant for Biathlon, Christian Egli helped develop the sit-ski sprint course for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games and contributed to the newly created IPC Nordic Skiing points system.

Paralympic Sport Awards 2009

Best Male Athlete

Australian Swimmer Matthew Cowdery (S9) won a total of eight Paralympic medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. He won four individual gold medals and five overall each in world record times as well as three silver medals. His performances far surpassed his expectations and he particularly enjoyed the 50m freestyle and the 4x100m medley relay.

Best Female Athlete

In her final Paralympic Games, Canada's Chantal Petitclerc (T54) won five gold medals covering distances from 100m to 1,500m despite facing a deep and talented field featuring many emerging Paralympic stars. Once again she rewrote the record book breaking three world and four Paralympic records. Petitclerc retired having won an impressive 21 Paralympic medals, including 14 gold, during a glittering career.

Best Team Performance

Australia's Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, called the Rollers, upset the odds in Beijing beating reigning Paralympic and World Champions Canada in the gold medal match 72-60.

Best Games Debut

New Zealand's Sophie Pascoe (S10) made an outstanding debut at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games winning three gold and one silver medal in Swimming events. Aged just 15 she was the youngest New Zealand athlete ever to win a medal at a Paralympics.

Best Team Official

As China's Chef-de-Mission at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Wang Xinxian’s contributions were outstanding. He not only supported the preparations of the Beijing Games with his expertise in finances and human resources, he also ensured the participation of Chinese Paralympic athletes in all 20 Paralympic sports.

Paralympic Sport Awards 2007

Best Male Athlete

Canada's Nordic Skier Brian McKeever (B3) won two gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the Torino Paralympic Games, bringing his career total of Paralympic medals to seven.

Best Female Athlete

Canadian Alpine Skier Lauren Woolstencroft (LW1-9) was one of the stars at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, winning one gold and one silver medal. She had already won a total of six Paralympic medals in her young career, including three gold. She has also been the overall leader in World Cup standings over the last number of years, winning numerous World Cup events, World Championship medals and World Cup overall titles.

Best Team Performance

The Canadian Ice Sledge Hockey Team struck gold at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games, the country's first gold in the sport, with a 3-0 Final victory over Norway. The gold medal completed the Paralympic medal set for Canada in this sport, following bronze in Lillehammer 1994 and silver in Nagano 1998. In total, four veteran athletes of the Torino team participated on each of these teams.

Best Games Debut

Swiss athlete Thomas Pfyl (LW 9-2) made an outstanding debut at the Tornio 2006 Paralympic Winter Games claiming one gold and one silver medal in the Alpine Skiing events. In addition, he topped the overall European Cup ranking in 2005/2006 as well as the World Cup ranking in 2007.

Best Games Official

At the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games, Karl Quade of Germany once again did an excellent job as Chef de Mission of the German Paralympic Team, adding another item to his long lists of outstanding contributions to the Paralympic Movement.

Paralympic Sport Awards 2005

Best Male Athlete

Brazilian swimmer Clodoaldo Silva (S4) was in superb form at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games winning six gold medals and a silver. He also set four world and five Paralympic records. During the Brazilian trials for the Games he broke all his personal bests and established two new world records.

Best Female Athlete

Japan's Mayumi Narita (SB3/SM4/S4) performances at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games were outstanding, with her emerging as the most decorated athlete of the Paralympics. Narita won seven gold medals and a bronze in the swimming pool, and also set six world and seven Paralympic records.

Best Team Performance

Canada’s Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team was a dominant force at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, completing an undefeated march to win the gold medal, defending their golden performance in Sydney 2000. The repeat Paralympic competition was even more convincing, as the Canadian Team outscored their competition by an average of 24 points per game and was never really threatened throughout the tournament.

Best Games Debut

Hong Kong's Wheelchair Fencer Chui Lee Yu made an impressive debut at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games as her excellent performance not only won her two gold medals in individual events but also helped her team to capture two gold medals.

Best Official

At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games Jonquil Solt of Great Britain, Chairperson of the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee (IPEC), proved to be a calm but persistent and very enthusiastic leader who exercised sound judgment and compassion, demonstrated at various occasions. She succeeded in resolving difficult situations in an exceptional manner, admired by athletes, officials and members: