German table tennis player Thomas Schmidberger has received the IPC Allianz Athlete of the Month for December prize ©Getty Images

German table tennis player Thomas Schmidberger has received the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Allianz Athlete of the Month honour for December after winning the gold medal in the men's class three singles and class four to five team events at the Para Table Tennis US Open in Las Vegas.

Schmidberger had a year to remember as he also claimed two silvers in the men’s singles and team class three at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The 25-year-old finished first in the public poll with 52.02 per cent of the vote.

He was followed by France’s Arthur Bauchet, who posted the two fastest runs in the men’s standing giant slalom on his IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup debut in St Moritz in Switzerland.

He was the runner-up with 33.19 per cent of the votes cast.

American Para-ice hockey player Steve Cash finished third in the public polls ©Getty Images
American Para-ice hockey player Steve Cash finished third in the public polls ©Getty Images

Para-ice hockey player Steve Cash, man of the match as the United States beat hosts Canada 5-2 in Charlottetown for their third straight World Sledge Hockey Challenge title, came third with 9.07 per cent.

American Nordic skier Oksana Masters and Dutch wheelchair tennis player Jiske Griffioen completed the list with respective percentages of 4.18 and 1.53 respectively.

Masters took three wins in cross-country women's sitting at the IPC Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Finnish village Vuokatti, while Griffioen successfully defended her NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters women’s singles title at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

Nominations for the award are decided after submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations, before the public votes online.