IPC reveals October Athlete of the Month shortlist

Montjane Kgothatso © • Getty Images © • Ben Solomon Yannick Bourseaux crossed the finish line first in the TRI-4 men's competition of the 2011 Para-Triathlon World Championships in Beijing, China. © • ITU Marcel Hug won two silvers this year at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. © • Getty Images

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 9 November to vote for which athlete it thought had the best performance last month.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced its shortlist for October’s Athlete of the Month award, and the public can now vote for the winner via the poll on the www.paralympic.org homepage.

October was highlighted by the Para-Triathlon World Championships, a series of wheelchair tennis tournaments and athletes receiving numerous accolades still from their London 2012 Paralympic Games performances.

The finalists for October’s top performers include:

- Montjane Kgothatso (South Africa): She became the first African wheelchair tennis player to ever qualify for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters and Invacare Doubles Masters and is now No. 10 in the women’s singles world rankings.

- Melissa Stockwell (USA): The Iraq war veteran won her third consecutive para-triathlon world title in Auckland, New Zealand in the women’s TRI-2 class. The 2008 Paralympic swimmer is now a strong Paralympic hopeful for Rio 2016.

- Yannick Bourseaux (France): The summer and winter sport athlete defended his para-triathlon world title in the men’s TRI-4 class while simultaneously training to qualify for Sochi 2014 in nordic skiing.

- Marcel Hug (Switzerland): The Swiss Silver Bullet won his third straight Oita Marathon, finishing with a top time of 1:25:08 in the T34/53/54 class, just a couple of weeks after winning the Berlin Marathon.

- Alphanso Cunningham (Jamaica): The 32-year-old, who won javelin F52/53 gold at London 2012, has been shortlisted because of the effect he’s had on his country since returning from the Paralympics. In addition to winning the Commonwealth Sports Award for Most Outstanding Male Athlete with a Disability in October, he has received tremendous praise from Jamaican government officials and the press in regards to how he’s changed perceptions in his country.

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 9 November to vote for which athlete it thought had the best performance last month.