Who will win Best Female Games Debut?

The nominees for this Paralympic Sport Award category include: Johanna Benson, Michele George and Marlou van Rhijn. 18 Nov 2013

Michele George did not expect to win gold at London 2012, but she ended up coming away from the Games with two first-place finishes.

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By IPC

Each day leading up to the awards, we will preview a different category, beginning with Best Female Debut.

The International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) will host the 2013 Paralympic Sport Awards in Athens, Greece, on Saturday (23 November). The awards gala, proudly partnered by the IPC’s International Partner Allianz, will include six awards categories: Best Female Debut, Best Male Debut, Best Female, Best Male, Best Team and Best Official.

Each day leading up to the awards, we will preview a different category, beginning with Best Female Debut.

For the first time, the IPC has decided to split the Best Games Debut award into male and female categories due to a record number of nominations received.

Nominees:

Johanna Benson (Namibia): The sprinter with cerebral palsy became the first Namibian to win gold in either the Olympic or Paralympic Games, taking London 2012 gold in the 200m T37 event. She also won a silver in the 100m T37.

Michele George (Belgium): At London 2012, she became Belgium’s first Paralympic equestrian gold medallist since the sport was added to the Paralympic Games programme in 1996. George won two gold medals in London, beating the favoured host nation delegation in both the individual championship and freestyle grade IV events.

Marlou van Rhijn (Netherlands): The Dutch double-amputee follow up winning 100m and 200m T44 European titles in June 2012 by claiming 100m silver and 200m gold at London 2012. At the Paralympics, she also set new world records for both sprint distances.