Wheelchair racer McFadden has had a sensational year following on from the three Paralympic gold medals she bought back from London 2012, taking a stunning clean sweep at the World Chmpionships of six gold medals in the 100 metres, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,5000m and 5,000m to assert her complete dominance over the T54 category and become the first woman to win six gold medals at a single Championship.

A flat tyre dashed her hopes of winning a Paralympic marathon gold, but the 24-year-old can take some crumbs of comfort before she gets the chance again at Rio 2016 from her exploits this year, which saw her win the Boston and London Marathons within the same week.

The two-time United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Athlete of the Month now has her sights set on more marathon glory in Chicago and New York, where she will lead the Team USA Endurance fundraising programme, and on qualifying for the US cross-country skiing team for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

Sitting volleyball player Holloway took the Best Spiker mantle at London 2012 Paralympic, leading her team to a silver medal with 98 points on 80 kills, nine blocks and seven aces in the full 17 sets she started for the US.

Two-time USA Volleyball Sitting Player of the Year Katie Holloway has been nominated for the team award

She then led her team to the 2012 Volleyball Masters tournament in the Netherlands, taking gold and being named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player in the process, before being named as the USA Volleyball Female Sitting Player of the Year.

A graduate of California State University - Northridge, where she became the first amputee ever to play NCAA Division 1 women's basketball, Holloway recently accepted a position as a recreational therapist with the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Palo Alto, and also serves as the Paralympic Summer Team Sports Representative on the USOC's Athletes Advisory Council.

In the individual award, McFadden finds herself up against the likes of compatriots swimming sensation Missy Franklin, who took six World Championship medals of her own in Barcelona this summer, and tennis ace Serena Williams, who won last year's Grand Slam events at Wimbledon and on home turf at Flushing Meadows, as well as this year's French Open at Roland Garros.

Front-runners in the team award alongside Holloway are two-time Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star and two-time Olympic champion Candace Parker and Olympic water polo gold medallist Melissa Seidemann.

To cast your vote, click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
August 2013: World Championship heroes Oliveira and McFadden to battle it out for Paralympic Athlete of the Month award