British wheelchair tennis player Jordanne Whiley is one of those nominated ©insidethegames

Six athletes are vying for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Allianz Athlete of the Month award after the list of nominations for September was released today.

Nigerian powerlifter Esther Oyema, British wheelchair tennis player Jordanne Whiley and wheelchair fencer Xu Feng Zou of China are three of those in contention for the award.

They will battle it out with Israeli rower Moran Samuel, German wheelchair basketball player Marina Mohnen and triathlete Stefan Daniel of Canada.

Nominations for the award are decided after submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations, and the ultimate destination of the award is then put to a public vote.

Paralympic champion Oyema produced a stunning display at the recent All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo, where she broke the women's up to 55 kilograms world record three times on her way to claiming gold, eventually finishing with a total of 139.32kg.

Briton Whiley meanwhile achieved a historic success for her nation at the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York as she became the first-ever female winner of a wheelchair tennis Grand Slam when she beat defending champion Yui Kamiji of Japan 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in the final.

Wheelchair fencer Zou has been nominated after she produced a sterling performance during the World Championships, belying her ranking of 17th by taking home double gold in the epee and sabre category A events.

Paralympic powerlifting champion Esther Oyema of Nigeria broke the world record three times on her way to claiming All-Africa Games gold
Paralympic powerlifting champion Esther Oyema of Nigeria broke the world record three times on her way to claiming All-Africa Games gold ©Getty Images

Mohnen was vital in Germany wrestling back the European Wheelchair Basketball Championship title from reigning champions The Netherlands after they proved too strong for the Dutch in the final.

She finished as the Most Valuable Player in the match thanks to her superb haul of 21 points.

Eighteen-year-old triathlete Daniel also enjoyed a fruitful month, picking up the men’s PT4 Para World Championships crown at the expense of defending champion Martin Schulz of Germany.

The list of nominees is completed by rower Samuel, who secured her maiden world title by winning the AS women's singles sculls at the World Championships in Aiguebelette, France.

Voting closes at 12pm CEST on October 9 and members of the public can pick their favourite at www.paralympic.org.



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