Mary Fisher shortlisted for IPC Athlete of the Month

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced its shortlist for March's Athlete of the Month award, and the public can now vote for the winner via the poll on www.paralympic.org.

This is your opportunity to get behind Mary Fisher from Wellington who has been shortlisted. You have until 22:00 on 12 April to vote.

Mary Fisher broke world records in the women's 50m butterfly S11, 100m butterfly S11, and 200m Butterfly S11 events at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships. She was also the winner of the People's Choice Award at the New Zealand Swimming Awards - an honour never won before by an athlete with an impairment.

Other finalists for March's Athlete of the Month are:

- Alexandra Frantseva (Russia): The visually impaired athlete had a top
performance at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Sochi, Russia,
winning the World Cup titles in the slalom, giant slalom and speed
events, as well as the women's visually impaired overall rankings.

- Andrea Eskau (Germany): In addition to winning three golds and a
bronze at the 2013 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships, Eskau finished
her season in first place in the women's sitting class of the IPC Nordic
Skiing World Cup rankings.

- Frank Rennhack (Germany): As the team captain, Rennhack fronted a
gold-medal victory for Germany at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World
Championships B-Pool, recording six goals and an assist.

- Kazuhiro Takahashi (Japan): Takahashi was the leading scorer at the
2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool, leading his team
to a silver medal with eight goals and assist at the tournament.

- Gustavo Fernandez (Argentina): The wheelchair tennis rising star won
back-to-back ITF 1 Series titles, winning the Pensacola Open and Cajun
Classic, beating world No. 2 Stephane Houdet of France in both events.