Simone Barlaam Wins Best Male Summer Athlete at First Para Sport Awards

Photo Courtesy: International Paralympic Committee

Simone Barlaam Wins Best Male Summer Athlete at First Para Sport Awards

Italian para swimmer Simone Barlaam was named the best male summer sports athlete at the inaugural Para Sport Awards on Wednesday.

Barlaam’s international coach, Riccardo Vernole, was also named the best coach at the awards, held in Bahrain.

The awards are being given for the first time by the International Paralympic Committee. They recognize, “those whose efforts have contributed to strengthening the impact of Para sports worldwide.” The ceremony was attached to the IPC General Assembly and Conference.

Barlaam won five gold medals at the 2022 Para Swimming World Championships in Madeira, Portugal. His swims there included four world records and two European records. For his career, he’s set 10 world records. The 23-year-old S9 swimmer has 18 career world championships gold medals and 21 total medals. He was just as good at the 2023 World Championships.

He won a gold medal in the S9 50 free at the Tokyo Paralympics to go with two silvers and a bronze.

Veronle led Italy to the top of the medal table at 2022 Para Swimming Worlds, the second straight time Italy has led that meet in accolades. Italy claimed 64 total medals at the 2022 championships in Madeira. Vernole is the most successful coach in Italian Paralympic swimming history.

The full list of honorees:

Best Female Summer Sports Athlete: Nicole Murray, para cycling, New Zealand
Best Male Summer Sports Athlete: Simone Barlaam, para swimming, Italy
Best Female Winter Sports Athlete: Oksana Masters, para Nordic skiing, USA
Best Male Winter Sports Athlete: Declan Farmer, para ice hockey, USA
Rising Star Award: Johannes Aigner and Matteo Fleischmann (guide), para alpine skiing, Austria
Best team: U.S. Para Ice Hockey
Citi Community Impact Award: Korea Paralympic Committee, Dream Paralympic Project
Citi Volunteer Award: Rebecca Foulsham, New Zealand
Breakthrough Award: Veronika Aigner and Elisabeth Aigner (guide), para alpine skiing, Austria
Best Coach: Riccardo Vernole, para swimming, Italy

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