Watson receives Allianz Athlete of the Month for May

Great Britain’s wheelchair racer Shelby Watson received the Allianz Athlete of the Month honour for May following her world-record-breaking performances.

The 18-year-old broke four world records in the T33 class at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Nottwil, Switzerland, on top of the two she set in Barcelona, Spain, earlier in May. In Nottwil, she took four seconds off her own 400m best, posting a time of 1:10.15. Watson then followed that up in the afternoon session with 19.89 in the 100m. She also set world bests in the 200m and 800m at the Grand Prix.

In a close race in the public polls, Watson took 37.16 per cent of the votes. Australian world champion canoeist Curtis McGrath received 36.86 per cent. Uzbekistani swimmer Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova secured 26 per cent, followed Belarusian swimmer Ihar Boki (1 per cent) and then the USA’s sonar team of Alphonsus Doerr, Hugh Freund and Bradley Kendall (1 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