IPC Announces Shortlist for July's Athlete of the Month

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced an exceptional shortlist of nine for July’s ‘Athlete of the Month’ Award which recognizes the best performances from the last month.

The public has until Sunday 7 August 2011 to choose its winner of the coveted title via www.facebook.com/paralympicsporttv, the IPC’s official Facebook page.

The shortlist for July includes candidates from a number of major competitions which took place in the last month and includes:

Yevheniy Bohodayko (Ukraine)

The S6 Ukrainian swimmer was indisputably the top performer at the IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin, not only winning eight gold and two silver medals, but also breaking the 100m Breaststroke SB6 world record and two other European records.

Dmytro Vynohradets (Ukraine)

The Beijing Paralympic champion was another star swimmer in Berlin, winning six gold medals and setting a new European record in the 50m Butterfly S3.

Sarai Gascon (Spain)

The 19-year-old Spanish swimming sensation was the star of the Spanish swimming team in the German capital winning seven medals – four of which gold.

Philippe Horner (Switzerland)

Taking the lead from the first day of the competition, Switzerland’s reigning European champion and Beijing 2008 bronze medalist won the World Championships in Para-archery in Turin, Italy in the Individual Compound Open.

Danielle Brown (Great Britain)

The young British Paralympic champion won gold in the Individual Compound Open at the Para-archery World Championships in Turin, Italy, as well as two silvers in the Team Compound Open.

Romain Noble (France)

France secured 14 medals in 15 events at the European Wheelchair Fencing Championships in Sheffield, Great Britain with Romain Noble largely contributing to this success. He won four gold medals, two in team events, and two in the individual foil and epee competitions.

Zsuzsanna Krajnyak (Hungary)

Hungarian sporting idol and active Paralympic Movement promoter Zsuzsanna Krajnyak produced a remarkable achievement in the European Wheelchair Fencing Championships claiming four gold medals (two individual and two team).

Team Russia CPISRA 7-a-side Football (Russia)

The Beijing 2008 silver medalists defeated Iran 6:1 in the final of the CPISRA 7-a-side Football World Championships in the Netherlands and must now start as favorites for gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Maikel Scheffers and Ronald Vink (the Netherlands)

The Dutch wheelchair tennis duo won the men's doubles at the British Open and Wimbledon, Great Britain, beating the French Paralympic champions in the final at both tournaments.

Previous winners of the award in 2011 are as follows:

• January – Yon Santacana (Spain’s World Champion Alpine Skier)

• February – Italy’s IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Champions

• March – Neil Fachie (Great Britain’s World Champion Track Cyclist)

• April – Mikhalina Lysova (Russia’s World Champion Biathlon and Cross Country Skier)

• May – Kristy Pond (Australia’s Gold medals winner in the Arafura Games - Athletics)

• June – Zoe Newson (Great Britain’s Junior World Champion Powerlifting)

Notes to the Editor:

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 170 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Craig Spence, IPC Media and Communications Senior Manager on e-mail: craig.spence@paralympic.org or call +49-228-2097-230. Alternatively, please visit www.paralympic.org