Vote now for Best Team from Sochi 2014

Nominees for the honour include: Russia and USA’s ice sledge hockey teams, Canada’s wheelchair curling team and Nordic relay squads from Russia and Sweden. 22 Apr 2014

Canada celebrate after winning gold against Russia in wheelchair curling at Sochi 2014.

ⒸGetty Images

By IPC

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 29 April to vote for which team it thought had the best performance last month at Sochi 2014.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has revealed the shortlist for the Best Team from March based on performances at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, and the public can now vote for the winner on www.paralympic.org.

In lieu of the IPC Athlete of the Month award for March, the honour is being separated into three different categories – Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete and Best Team – based on results at Sochi 2014.

A one-week voting period is being dedicated to each category on the IPC’s website, with American ice sledge hockey player Declan Farmer having already been voted the Best Male Athlete and French alpine skier Marie Bochet as the Best Female Athlete.

The nominees for Best Team include:

Canada’s wheelchair curling team: The Canadians won their third consecutive Paralympic gold in wheelchair curling, defeating Russia in the final. Sonja Gaudet has played on all three of Canada’s title teams, while Jim Armstrong and Ina Forrest have played on two. It was the first gold for Dennis Thiessen and alternate Mark Ideson.

Russia’s ice sledge hockey team: After starting up their national ice sledge hockey programme just five years ago, Russia captured the world’s attention by winning silver on their home ice in Sochi. In preliminary round play, they also upset the USA and finished in first place in Group B.

Russia’s Nordic skiing mixed relay team: In the mixed relay, just when it seemed Russia might not even finish on the podium, Nikolay Polukhin stormed home in the final leg of the race to complete the course in 27:35.6 and snag the gold for the host nation with teammates Alena Kaufman, Elena Remizova and Svetlana Konovalova. The Russians were in eighth place after the second leg but gradually moved forward in the race and surpassed Sweden and Norway in the final leg to top the podium.

Sweden’s Nordic skiing mixed relay team: In an event that typically includes four athletes per team, Sweden opted to go with just two – 19-year-old Zebastian Modin and 42-year-old Helen Ripa. The pair won a silver medal, with each having to ski two legs of the race.

USA’s ice sledge hockey team: The Americans made history in Sochi by becoming the first ice sledge hockey team to win back-to-back Paralympic titles. In the semi-finals, the USA defeated top seed and world champions Canada, 3-0, and then defeated No. 3 Russia, 1-0, to win gold in front of the host nation’s crowd.

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 29 April to vote for which team it thought had the best performance last month at Sochi 2014.

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