Ekrem Gundogdu named Athlete of the Month

Turkish goalball player Ekrem Gundogdu has been named Allianz Athlete of the Month for August after his performance at the 2016 Malmo Men Intercup.

Gundogdu helped the Turkish men’s goalball team defeat Germany for the gold medal at the event in Sweden, which was one of the last major competitions before the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. He was Turkey’s top scorer with 28 goals and helped his team to a 10-0 victory in the final.

It was a tight race in the public polls, with Gundogdu receiving 49 per cent of the votes.

Iranian football 7-a-side player Mehdi Jemali was second with 41 per cent. German sprinter Heinrich Popow was third (six per cent), followed by British wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft (four per cent).

The 2016 winners are:

January – Abdullah Sultan Alaryani, United Arab Emirates, shooting

February – Andrey Smirnov, Russia, wheelchair curling

March – Stephen McGuire, Great Britain, boccia

April – Carlos Serrano, Colombia, swimming

May – Shelby Watson, Great Britain, athletics

June – Elena Krawzow, Germany, swimming

July – Richard Whitehead, Great Britain, athletics

August – Ekrem Gunogdu, Turkey, goalball