By Emily Goddard

Roman Petushkov 1303131March 13 - Roman Petushkov has been named as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athlete of the Month for February after the Russian sit skier secured a remarkable five gold medals at the 2013 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships in Sollefteå.

The 35-year-old Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympic silver and bronze medallist (pictured top) dominated the cross country sprint, middle and long distance races, as well as putting on superb performances in the open relay and biathlon middle distance events in Sweden.

Heading into the World Championships, Petushkov admitted it was him against the clock.

"Time is my main rival," he said prior to the event.

"My strength is how I strive for victory."

It is the second time in just over a year that Petushkov has been voted IPC Athlete of the Month after he earned the honour in January 2012 for consistently medalling gold in every race at the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup in Cable, Minneapolis at the beginning of last year.

Roman Petushkov 1303133Roman Petushkov is now gearing up to compete at the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic test event for his sport

This time around, he received 46 per cent of the public's vote, ahead of Spanish visually impaired alpine skier Jon Santacana, who was second with 28 per cent of the vote.

Canadian nordic skier Brian McKeever, Japanese nordic skier Taiki Morii, French alpine skier Marie Bochet and the Canadian wheelchair curling team were also shortlisted for the monthly honour.

Petushkov's next major event is the Sochi 2014 Paralympic test event in the sport – the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup finals – on home snow in Russia, which takes place on March 16-21.

The IPC Athlete of the Month nominations are compiled from submissions by National Paralympic Committees and International Federations, with the winner being selected by a public vote via a poll on the IPC website.

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