Brent Lakatos named Americas ‘Athlete of the Month’

Canadian wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos has been chosen Americas ‘Athlete of the Month’ for June following a memorable performance at the Nottwil Grand Prix, where he broke a seven-year-old world record in the men’s 1,500m T53/54.

The Rio 2016 champion clocked 2:51.84, more than two seconds less than the mark set by Switzerland’s two-time Paralympic gold medallist Marcel Hug in 2010.

“It was just perfect team work that got that record. Kenny van Weeghel, Richard Chiassaro and I just went out for a fast time and it just happened,” said Lakatos.

“It’s great – I had no idea coming in to this weekend that I would be anywhere near this kind of shape, it’s just completely unexpected and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

The seven-time world champion received an overwhelming 67 per cent of the votes.

Brazilian C5 cyclist Lauro Cesar Chaman, who end top of the Road World Cup overall rankings, and USA’s swimmer Rebeca Meyers, who won all her five events at the World Series on home soil in Indianapolis, were also nominated.

The nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from the continent.

The 2017 Allianz Athlete of the Month winners so far are:

• January – Gustavo Fernandez, Argentina, wheelchair tennis

• February – Alexander Cataldo, Chile, wheelchair tennis

• March – Maria Paula Barrera, Colombia, swimming

• April – Adam Dixon, Canada, ice hockey

• May – Bruna Costa Alexandre, Brazil, table tennis

• June – Brent Lakatos, Canada, athletics