IPC announces January’s Athlete of the Month shortlist
Nominees for January’s IPC Athlete of the Month include: Henrieta Farkasova, Kozo Kubo, Shingo Kunieda, Evan Strong and Aniek van Koot. 01 Feb 2013
Japan's Shingo Kunieda is ranked No. 1 in the world in men's singles wheelchair tennis.
The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 8 February to vote for which athlete they think had the best performance last month.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced the shortlist for January’s Athlete of the Month award, and the public can now vote for the winner via the poll on the homepage of www.Paralympic.org.
Last month was highlighted by the Australian Open wheelchair tennis tournament, the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup and the IPC Alpine Skiing World and Europa Cups.
The finalists for January’s top performers include:
- Henrieta Farkasova (Slovakia): The visually impaired skier had two first-place giant slalom finishes at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup event in Sestriere, Italy, as well as a first and second-place finish in the slalom. She also won one of her giant slalom and slalom runs at the World Cup event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and both of her downhill runs at the Europa Cup in Tarvisio, Italy.
- Kozo Kubo (Japan): Kubo won all three biathlon sitting events at the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup in Wisconsin, USA.
- Shingo Kunieda (Japan): The wheelchair tennis star won his sixth Australian Open title since 2007 in January, beating Frenchman Stephane Houdet in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. He also regained his world No. 1 men’s singles ranking.
- Evan Strong (USA): The American beat 26 other competitors to win the snowboard cross event in the men’s lower-limb classification at the IPC Alpine Skiing event in Nevada, USA, on 27 January.
- Aniek van Koot (Netherlands): The Dutch wheelchair tennis player won the women’s singles title at the Australian Open and moved up to the No. 1 spot on the world rankings list, ahead of compatriot Esther Vergeer, who did not compete. She also reached the final of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour events in Sydney and Melbourne.
The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 8 February to vote for which athlete they think had the best performance last month.
The nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations.
Related Images
Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova won the women’s visually impaired giant slalom on the first day of the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Sestriere, Italy.
Japan’s Kozo Kubo won the sitting category in the long distance biathlon in Cable, Wisconsin, USA.
Evan Strong has been a dominant force on the para-snowboard scene