Nadiia and Ivan Sivak win Athlete of the Month for December

“Feelings during trainings and competitions are always different and diverse – a storm of feelings that we try to show with our bodies and emotions.”

Double world title winners from the 2013 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport World Championships, Nadiia and Ivan Sivak, have been voted as IPC Athlete of the Month for December with 48 per cent of the public vote.

The Ukrainian husband and wife team picked up two golds in the duo Latin and duo standard class 2 in Tokyo, Japan, propelling them further into the worldwide dance hall of fame.

Despite achieving a perfect score for their Tango at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Park, the Sivaks commented that they do not have a best dance: “We consider all dances that lead us to the victory to be the best ones.”

The couple married in 2009 on the International Day of Dance, but they not see their closeness as giving them an edge over their competitors.

“Feelings during trainings and competitions are always different and diverse – a storm of feelings that we try to show with our bodies and emotions,” they said. “Maybe that is what helps us to dance but it is not always like this.”

For them, dancing is a constant learning process which never ends: “Step by step we improve everything that we already know and can do and keep learning more about this magnificent art of dancing.”

In December’s Athlete of the Month vote on paralympic.org, the Ukrainians beat Russian Nordic skier Alena Kaufman, Chinese wheelchair fencer Jing Rong, Algerian goalball player Mokrane Mohamed and German alpine skier Andrea Rothfuss.

IPC Athlete of the Month nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations. Fans can vote on paralympic.org.