Two time Paralympics Champion Iranian powerlifter Siamand Rahman has won the Allianz Best Male Athlete of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The award is a monthly award and has three different categories viz Best Male, Best Female Athlete & Best team of the month as per the IPC initiative to recognise the athletes who perform well each month.
Rahman won gold at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics, Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou in powerlifting.
Before Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics, Rahman could lift a weight upto 296kg and he was determined to reach 300kg during Rio 2016. The London 2012 Champion did not disappoint, clearing the bar at 305kg for the gold medal and then followed it up with a final world-record lift of 310kg; which is equivalent two baby elephants or a Siberian tiger.
During the award consideration, Rahman along with Colombian swimmer Carlos Serrano, Belarusian swimmer Ihar Boki, Swiss wheelchair racer Marcel Hug, Belgian table tennis player Laurens Devos and Australian wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott were nominated for the award. Rehman received 64 per cent of the public votes to win the prestigious award followed by Colombian swimmer Carlos Serrano as second most voted & Belarusian swimmer Ihar Boki as third.
The IPC award for September is based on results at Rio 2016. Other winners of Individual awards (Male) this year are:
- Abdullah Sultan Alaryani, United Arab Emirates, shooting for the month of January 2016
- Andrey Smirnov, Russia, wheelchair curling for the month of February 2016
- Stephen McGuire, Great Britain, Boccia for the month of March 2016
- Carlos Serrano, Colombia, Swimming for the month of April 2016
- Shelby Watson, Great Britain, Athletics for the month of May 2016
- Elena Krawzow, Germany, Swimming for the month of June 2016
- Richard Whitehead, Great Britain, Athletics for the month of July 2016
- Ekrem Gundogdu, Turkey, Goalball for the month of August 2016