Holt produced a blistering performance at the season-opening IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Canberra as she ran 28.38sec for the T35 200 metres, knocking 0.19 seconds of her own world record, set at last year’s World Championships in Doha.

The result came just 24 hours after the 14-year-old double world champion came within one hundredth of a second of her 100m world record on the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athletics track.

Smirnov was instrumental in his side’s successful title defence at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships in Lucerne as he skipped Russia to a 7-4 victory over Norway in the final.

His countryman Stanislav Chokhlaev has also been put forward for the monthly prize after he beat world champion and compatriot Nikolay Polukhin at the IPC Biathlon World Cup in Finsterau in Germany.

Chokhlaev and guide Oleg Kolodiichuk’s victory ensures they remain well-placed to secure the overall World Cup title, with the final races due to take place in Vuokatti in Finland from March 15 to 20.

World and Paralympic world champion Marie Bochet of France has been nominated after she sealed two overall IPC Alpine Skiing overall titles during the season-ending event in Aspen in Colorado.

She then went on to claim a third yesterday as she topped the podium in the women's downhill discipline.

The 22-year-old won four Paralympic gold medals at Sochi 2014 and has a total of nine world titles to her name.

The Netherlands’ Bibian Mentel Spee, the Paralympic snowboard cross champion, has also made the shortlist after she won maintained an unbeaten record in the SB-LL2 events at the IPC Snowboard World Cup competitions in Big White in Canada, and Aspen.

The five-strong list of nominations was compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations.

The winner will be decided by a public vote, which closes on March 9.

The poll is available by clicking here.