Veronika Vadovicova leads the list of nominees for February's Allianz Athlete of the Month award ©IPC

Rio 2016 gold medallist Veronika Vadovicova is one of five athletes shortlisted for the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) Allianz Athlete of the Month prize for February.

The Slovakian shooter, winner of two Paralympic gold medals at Rio 2016, opened the 2017 season in phenomenal style.

She won all four of her events at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Her stunning performance included three new world records due to a change in the finals format.

A new format for finals - where two five shot series are contested instead of a three shot series - is making its debut this season. 

Oksana Masters of the United States has also been nominated.

Masters won four gold medals at the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships in Finsterau in Germany.

She completed a clean sweep in cross-country, winning the sprint, middle distance and long distance sitting events.

The 27-year-old added another title in the biathlon sprint and a bronze medal in the biathlon individual.

Japan's Sho Watanabe has also been shortlisted after she defeated Switzerland’s Paralympic champion Marcel Hug to win the Tokyo Marathon.

The 25-year-old clocked a time of 1 hour 28min 01 sec to finish just ahead of Hug in 1:28:01, winner of all six major marathons in 2016.

America's Oksana Masters has been shortlisted for the Allianz Athlete of the Month prize for February after winning four gold medals at the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships ©Getty Images
America's Oksana Masters has been shortlisted for the Allianz Athlete of the Month prize for February after winning four gold medals at the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships ©Getty Images

The fourth nominee is Austria's Carina Edlinger.

At her first World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, the 18-year-old claimed a surprise double gold medal in the women’s cross-country sprint and long distance visually impaired events alongside her guide and brother Julian.

They also took the bronze medal in the cross-country middle distance in Finsterau.

Completing the list of nominees is snowboarder Brenna Huckaby of the US.

Huckaby won two gold medals at the 2017 World Para Snowboard Championships in Big White in Canada.

The 21-year-old had a late comeback in the snowboard-cross big final to defend her world title, and won the banked slalom SB-LL1 gold medal, an event she took silver at two years ago.

Huckaby dethroned France’s reigning world champion Cecile Hernandez-Cervellon, who claimed silver.

The public has until Thursday (March 9) to vote.

This month's vote can be found here. 

Dutch skier Jeroen Kampschreur was January's winner after he won three sitting titles at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Tarvisio in Italy at the age of just 17.