Inas announces finalists in 1st Inas Awards
Inas, the International Federation for sport for athletes with an intellectual disability within the Paralympic movement has today announced the shortlisted nominees for the 1st Inas Awards which take place in April.
The Awards are a new event recognizing the achievements of athletes with an intellectual disability and the many people who support support them.
For ‘Best Male Athlete’, the shortlisted finalists are Lenine Cuhna (Portugal) and Wai Lok Tang (Hong Kong).
Lenine has collected an incredible
163 international medals in a 14 year career and is the World Record holder in both Heptathlon, Indoor Pentahlon and Triple Jump.
At 17 years of age, Wai Lok is an established international swimmer holding a number of Asian records including 200m Freestyle.
For ‘Best Female Athlete’, the finalists are Bethany Firth (Great Britain) and Ka Man Wong (Hong Kong).
Bethany was a 2012 Paralympic gold-medalist in the 100m Backstroke and competed in the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Ka Man, table tennis, is ranked 7th in the world and no. 2 in Asia.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 11th April in Sheffield, UK, where the winner of the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ – an award that recognises the contribution made by volunteers and coaches will also be confirmed.
Finally, Inas will induct its first member to the Inas Hall of Fame which recognises a lifetime achievement in sport for athletes with an intellectual disability.
Amaury Russo, Inas President congratulated the shortlisted finalists. “Over the past few years, the performance of athletes with an intellectual disability has increased significantly and the Inas Awards are a long-overdue recognition of their achievements. I look forward to announcing the winners in April”.
The Awards are the first such event, and are expected to be held every two years to coincide with the Inas General Assembly. More than 14 nominations were received in the first year.
