Newly-crowned boccia world champion Stephen McGuire has been named the IPC Athlete of the Month for March ©Getty Images

Britain's newly-crowned boccia world champion Stephen McGuire has been named the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athlete of the Month for March.

The 31-year-old from Scotland won the BC4 class gold medal at the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) World Individual Championships in Beijing, defeating home favourite Yuansen Zheng 4-3 in the finals to lift the title for the first time. 

McGuire received a majority of the public vote with Heather Erickson, the United States’ sitting volleyball player, coming second second in the polls.

Erickson was nominated after being named the Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker of the 2016 World ParaVolley Intercontinental in Anji in China.

She led the American team with 80, plus 13 blocks and 10 aces, as the US defeated China 3-1 in the gold medal match - the first time they had beaten China in a major World ParaVolley Championship.

British track cyclist Megan Gilgia, who set two world records at the International Cycling Union (UCI) Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari  in Italy, was third.

Heather Erickson, centre, the United States' sitting volleyball player, came second in the polls ©Getty Images
Heather Erickson, centre, the United States' sitting volleyball player, came second in the polls ©Getty Images

Australian table tennis player Melissa Tapper and US cross-country skier Oksana Masters finished fourth and fifth respectively. 

Tapper, 26, became the first Australian athlete to qualify for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, while Masters went unbeaten at the IPC Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Vuokatti in Finland.

The nominations were compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations.

Russia’s Andrey Smirnov won the award for February after skipping his team to the successful defence of their World Wheelchair Curling Championships title.