The former athlete, who also secured 18 world titles in an athletics career that spanned three decades, and Sochi 2014 member was handed the award by Sir Philip Craven, the IPC President.

"I gave 35 years to sport, I rose it up, I saw how it was rising and that's why I can't stop doing it," Batalova said at the ceremony on International Women's Day.

"It would be a travesty to stop.

"My motto is 'If not me, then who?'

"International Women's Day is a special holiday here in Russia, when women feel that they are special.

"But I'd like to feel it more often, every day and every minute.

"Across the whole world, in particular the sport world, women are inspirational."

Batalova was voted to receive the award after the IPC's Women in Sport Committee received a record number of nominations.

She overcame the likes of International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) President Jannie Hammershøi, Poland's three-time Paralympic table tennis champion and Olympian Natalia Partyka, Asian Paralympic Committee Women in Sport Committee chair Fatemeh Rakhshani and Burundi National Paralympic Committee deputy secretary general Nadia Harusimana to take the title.

Sir Philip Craven presented the medals on the 6-kilometre sitting biathlon podium ©Sochi 2014


Sir Philip, who awarded the Paralympic medals at the first Sochi 2014 women's podium ceremony - the 6-kilometre sitting biathlon, gave a speech outlining plans aimed at growing women's participation in Parasport.

"Through the IPC's Women in Sport Committee, the IPC's aim is to ensure greater gender equality across the Paralympic Movement," he said.

"In terms of the Games, the IPC's goal is for a 50/50 split in the number of women and men taking part and in the number of medal events.

"Here in Sochi, we have 13 per cent more women competing than in Vancouver four years ago.

"Forty-seven per cent of the medal events are for women and to improve this by 2022, we hope to introduce women's ice sledge hockey into the Winter Paralympic programme."

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