Who should be September’s Allianz Athlete of the Month?

World champions in archery, rowing and triathlon are among the candidates 04 Oct 2017
Imagen
five Para athletes compete in their sports

(clockwise from top left) Nemati, Plat, Pazarauskas, Skarstein and Horrie were the standout performers in September

By IPC

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has revealed the shortlist for the Allianz Athlete of the Month for September, and the public can now vote for the winner on www.paralympic.org.

The nominations are:

Erik Horrie, Australia, rowing

Horrie upset defending Paralympic champion Roman Polianskyi of Ukraine in a tight race, overtaking Polianskyi in the final 200m to win the men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x) gold medal at the 2017 World Rowing Championships. It was the first Worlds competed over the new 2,000m distance.

Zahra Nemati, Iran, archery

The Iranian recurve archer united the Paralympic and world titles with another world title at the Beijing 2017 World Archery Para Championships. Nemati also won Worlds bronze in the mixed team open with Pouiya Jalipour.

Justas Pazarauskas, Lithuania, goalball

Pazaraukas helped his team win the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) European Goalball Championships, finishing the tournament as the leading scorer with 32 goals, including all points in Lithuania’s 6-3 victory against Germany in the final.

Jetze Plat, Netherlands, cycling and triathlon

Plat won three world titles in one month (cycling time trial and road races; and men’s PTWC in triathlon). He went onto win the handcycling race at the Berlin marathon less than a week after competing at the 2017 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Para Triathlon World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Birgit Skarstein, Norway, rowing

Skarstein completed a successful season by winning the women’s single sculls (PR1 W1x) at the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton, USA. It was the first Worlds competed over the new 2,000m distance.

The public has until 12:00 (CEST) on Wednesday (11 October) to vote for the athlete they want to be the Allianz Athlete of the Month for September 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 Niringiyimana, Rwanda, taekwondo

• May – Evan Medell, USA, taekwondo

• June – Alfie Hewett, Great Britain, wheelchair tennis

• July – Petrucio Ferreira, Brazil, athletics

• August - U Cheol Park, South Korea, wheelchair rugby