IPC Opens Poll to Vote the ‘Athlete of the Month’ November 2010

IPC Opens Poll to Vote the ‘Athlete of the Month’ November 2010

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced its shortlist of five athletes who are in the running for November’s ‘Athlete of the Month’.

For the third time, the public has been asked to cast their vote for who they think was the best performing athlete in the last month and have until Sunday 5 December to cast their vote via www.facebook.com/ParalympicSport.TV.

This month’s shortlist consists of five European athletes from a wide range of sports.

David Weir (Great Britain)

The two-time Paralympic Champion won the New York Marathon in early November and is determined to keep his form ahead of January’s IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Esther Vergeer (the Netherlands)

Paralympic Games multi-medallist Esther Vergeer has dominated the Wheelchair Tennis circuit since her debut season in 1998. This month, she set a new benchmark by winning her 400th consecutive Wheelchair Tennis singles match at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Stephane Houdet (France)

French Wheelchair Tennis player Stephane Houdet may have lost the men’s final at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Amsterdam, but in the semi-finals, he became the first player in 107 games to defeat Japan’s Shingo Kunieda.

Anna Schaffelhuber (Germany)

Vancouver 2010 bronze medalist Anna Schaffelhuber won both Women’s Slalom Sitting competitions at the IPC Alpine Skiing event in Landgraaf, the Netherlands. Besides dominating the first Alpine Skiing event of the 2010/2011 season, she became the star athlete at the first ever IPC Alpine Skiing indoor event.

Tom Aggar (Great Britain)

Paralympic gold medalist Tom Aggar dominated the Men’s Single Scull at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, finishing 13 seconds ahead of his competition to become World Champion.

Last month’s IPC ‘Athlete of the Month’ was 20 year-old Katrina Hart from Great Britain, who claimed England’s first athletics gold medal of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

Other winners this year have included:

January: Alexi Salamone, Ice Sledge Hockey, USA

February: Mariann Marthinsen, Cross-Country Skiing, Norway

March: Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team

April: Sinisa Vidic, Shooting, Serbia

May: Katrin Green, Athletics, Germany

June: Padraic Moran, Boccia, Ireland

July: Chinese Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team

August: Daniel Dias, Swimming, Brazil

September: US Wheelchair Rugby National Team

October: Katrina Hart, Athletics, Great Britain