IPC announces April’s Athlete of the Month shortlist

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 8 May to vote for the winner. 02 May 2013

Russia's Mikhail Ivanov was named Best Goaltender at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Goyang, Korea.

ⒸIPC

By IPC

Last month was highlighted by the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, the IPC Shooting World Cup, the Boston and London Marathons and swimming’s CanAm Championships.

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

Last month was highlighted by the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, the IPC Shooting World Cup, the Boston and London Marathons and swimming’s CanAm Championships.

The finalists for April’s Athlete of the Month include:

-Greg Westlake (Canada, ice sledge hockey): Westlake was named the Best Forward at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, where Canada won gold. As the team captain, Westlake led the Canadians with five goals in five games, including the game-winning score in the semi-final against the Czech Republic.

-Martin Hall (Sweden, shooting): In his first major international competition, Hall won gold in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the IPC Shooting World Cup event in Szczecin, Poland. His score of 204.9 set a new world record.

-Tatyana McFadden (USA, athletics): McFadden celebrated her 24th birthday by winning the London Marathon in a course-record time, just six days after winning the Boston Marathon. The win was extremely special for McFadden, who had been determined to show her support for those affected by the tragic events that took place during the Boston Marathon.

-Ian Silverman (USA, swimming): Silverman posted two world records – pending IPC Swimming ratification – at the CanAm meet in Minneapolis, USA. He won the 800m S10 in a top time of 8:35.69 and broke the 33-year-old world record in the 1,500m S10 by clocking in at 16:24.63.

-Mikhail Ivanov (Russia, ice sledge hockey): Ivanov was named the Best Goaltender at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, where he helped Russia win bronze in their first A-Pool appearance. He stopped more than 96 per cent of the pucks that flew his way, recording 55 saves.

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 8 May to vote for which athlete it thought had the best performance last month.

The nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) and International Federations (IFs).