Iranian powerlifter Siamand Rahman has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2017 Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.
Iranian powerlifter Siamand Rahman has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2017 Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.
Rahman made history at Latin America’s first Paralympics when he became the first athlete to lift over 300kg, Paralympic.org wrote.
He produced arguably the best performance of Rio 2016 when he lifted a world record 310kg to take gold in the men’s over 100kg powerlifting event. In becoming the first Paralympian to lift over 300kg, Rahman made global headlines for Paralympic sport. His final lift of 310kg was the equivalent of lifting a large Siberian tiger.
Earlier in the year, Rahman had broken his own world record by 1kg with a lift of 296kg at the 7th Fazza 2016 IPC Powerlifting World Cup.
The six shortlisted athletes are Siamand Rahman (IRI), Ihar Boki (BLR), Omara Durand (CUB), Marcel Hug (SUI), Sophie Pascoe (NZL), Beatrice Vio (ITA).
The winner will be announced on 14 February at a glittering awards ceremony in Monaco.