Vote now for the Allianz Athlete of the Month – May 2017

Five Para athletes have been shortlisted for the Allianz Athlete of the Month poll for May 2017, and the public are now invited to vote for their winner via www.paralympic.org.

The nominations are:

Bruna Costa Alexandre, Brazil, table tennis

Helped Brazil clinch gold in the women’s class 9-10 at the ITTF Para World Team Championships. It was Brazil and Latin America’s first ever world title in the sport.

Zhenzhen Zhu, China, wheelchair tennis

Defeated world No. 3 Diede de Groot to pull off a memorable upset with compatriot Hui Min Huang at the World Team Cup, beating top seed and 29-time champions the Netherlands 2-0 to win China's first women’s title ever.

Cassie Mitchell, USA, athletics

Broke a 28-year-old world record at the Arizona Grand Prix. The T51 athlete, who was diagnosed with leukemia last year, clocked 6:25.19 in the 1,500m T33/34/51, knocking a remarkable 1:34.61 off the previous mark which had stood since 1989.

Evan Medell, USA, taekwondo

Caused a major upset by defeating Croatia's world No.1 Ivan Mikulic in the final of the men’s over 75kg K44 to win the Oceania Para Taekwondo Open in Auckland, New Zealand.

Watcharaphon Vongsa, Thailand, boccia

Beat compatriot Worawut Saengampa in a tight 6-5 finals to win the BC2 individual event at the BISFed 2017 Asia-Oceania Championships.

The public has until 13:00 (CEST) on Thursday (8 June) to vote for the athlete they want to be the Allianz Athlete of the Month for May 2017 via the www.paralympic.org homepage.

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

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

• January – Jeroen Kampschreur, Netherlands, alpine skiing

• February – Veronica Vadovicova, Slovakia, shooting

• March – Maria Paula Barrera, Colombia, swimming

• April – Jean Claude Niringiyimana, Rwanda, taekwondo