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Andre Viger of Canada, Claudia Hengst of Germany, Connie Hansen from Denmar and Kevin McIntosh and Peter Homann from Australia are honored as inductees of the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame for this year. [Xinhua]

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Sunday that four accomplished Paralympians and one Paralympic coach had been honored as inductees of the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame for this year.

Andre Viger of Canada, Claudia Hengst of Germany, Connie Hansen from Denmar and Kevin McIntosh and Peter Homann from Australia were elected after an extensive review process by the IPC for their athletic performance, history of fair play and participation in community service.

"These five inductees have excelled and demonstrated their elite athletic status on and off the playing field," said Philip Craven, president of the IPC. "In essence, they have become role models, to future athletes and to the Paralympic Movement."

"You embody courage, determination, inspiration and equality, the Paralympic values."

Viger, who passed away last year, had won gold medals for the marathon in both the Stoke Mandeville & New York Games in 1984 and Seoul Games in 1988 and picked up a third Paralympic title in Barcelona for the men's 10,000 meters race.

German Paralympic swimmer Hengst has been active and winning medals in every Paralympic Games since Seoul 1988. She impressed audiences the most with her debut in South Korea with six gold medals before collecting a total of eight medals in Barcelona.

Hansen and Homann were also multi gold medal winners, in athletics and cycling respectively, while McIntosh enjoyed a splendid cycling coaching career by leading his athletes to a total of 10 gold medals in Sydney and Athens.

The Paralympic Hall of Fame, created and presented by Visa, was established in 2006 to celebrate the achievements and spirit of athletes with a disability and their coaches for the betterment of the community of people with a disability as a whole.

It is the first and only program of its kind that honors Paralympic athletes and coaches who have demonstrated successful athletic performance, a history of fair play, and community service participation.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2008)