Vote now for the Allianz Best Male of the Month – September 2016

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has revealed the shortlist for the Best Male Athlete of September based on performances at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and the public can now vote for the winner on www.Paralympic.org.

In lieu of the IPC Athlete of the Month award for September, the honour is being separated into three different categories – Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete and Best Team – based on results at Rio 2016.

A one-week voting period will be dedicated to each category on the IPC’s website, beginning with Best Male Athlete.

Marcel Hug, SUI, athletics

Hug won both the men’s 800m T54 and marathon, both highly competitive events at Rio 2016. His two silvers – 1,500m and 5,000m T54 – were also tight finishes.

Siamand Rahman, IRI, powerlifting

Rahman lifted a whopping world record of 310kg, en route to the gold medal and confirming his status as the world’s strongest Paralympian.

Carlos Serrano, COL, swimming

On his Paralympic debut, the 18-year-old took three medals, including a world-record gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB7.

Ihar Boki, BLR, swimming

The 22-year-old left Rio 2016 as the most decorated Paralympian with seven medals overall; six were gold and two that were in world-record times.

Laurens Devos, BEL, table tennis

On his Paralympic debut, Devos won the men’s individual class 9 title at 16 years old, not dropping a single set.

Dylan Alcott, AUS, wheelchair tennis

The former wheelchair basketball player ended his first Paralympic Games as a wheelchair tennis player with two gold medals in Rio, winning the quad singles without dropping a set. He also won the quad doubles partnering Heath Davidson after they beat the USA's three-time gold medallists in three sets.

The public has until 12:00 (CEST) on Friday (14 October) to vote for the athlete they want to be the Allianz Male Athlete of the Month for September 2016 via the www.paralympic.org homepage.

The nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) and International Federations (IFs).

The 2016 Allianz Athlete of the Month winners so far are:

· January – Abdullah Sultan Alaryani, United Arab Emirates, shooting

· February – Andrey Smirnov, Russia, wheelchair curling

· March – Stephen McGuire, Great Britain, boccia

· April – Carlos Serrano, Colombia, swimming

· May – Shelby Watson, Great Britain, athletics

· June – Elena Krawzow, Germany, swimming

· July – Richard Whitehead, Great Britain, athletics

· August – Ekrem Gundogdu, Turkey, goalball