Michael Milton (skier) – Wikipedia
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Michael John Milton, OAM[1] (born 21 March 1973) is an Australian Paralympic skier, Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlete[2] with one leg. With 6 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals he is the most successful Australian Paralympic athlete in the Winter Games.
Personal[edit]
Milton was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, on 21 March 1973. His left leg was amputated above the knee when he was nine years old due to bone cancer.[3] He grew up into a skiing family, and after losing his leg he was determined to be able to ski again.
I think there’s a natural competitive spirit within myself, and perhaps the environment that I grew up in – learning to live with one leg, wanting to be competitive with my able-bodied peers – really created that mindset…. it’s only a leg. The really important things in life are family, friends and having fun. None of those things have anything to do with how many legs you have.
Michael Milton, skier[3]
Milton participated but did not win any medals at the 1988 Innsbruck Winter Paralympics.[4] At the 1992 Tignes-Albertville Winter Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the Men’s Slalom LW2 event, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia,[1] and a silver medal in the Men’s Super-G LW2 event.[4] He became the first Australian to win a gold medal at a winter Olympics or Paralympics.[5] That year he also won the slalom in the Austrian championships, and in 1993 he won both the slalom and super giant slalom at the Columbia Crest Cup.[5] At the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the Men’s Giant Slalom LW2 event, a silver medal in the Men’s Slalom LW2 event, and two bronze medals in the Men’s Downhill LW2 and Men’s Super-G LW2 events.[4] In January 1996, he won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the World Skiing Championships held in Austria.[6]
In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal.[7] In 2001, he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport ‘Best of the Best’.[8] At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics, he won four gold medals in the Men’s Downhill LW2, Men’s Giant Slalom LW2, Men’s Slalom LW2, and Men’s Super-G LW2 events.[4] In April 2005, he was the first person with a disability to break the 200 kilometres per hour mark with a speed of 210.4 km/h. He then aimed to beat the Australian open record of 212.26 km/h, set in 1997 by able-bodied athlete Nick Kirshner.[9] At the 2006 Turin Winter Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the Men’s Downhill standing event.[4]
On 12 July 2007, it was announced on Sports Tonight that he had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. He had a six centimetre tumour removed from his throat and is now in remission. Less than a year later, he was selected for the Beijing Paralympics, his first Summer Paralympics, as a cyclist.[10]
At the 2014 Sochi Games, he was the assistant alpine skiing coach of the Australian Paralympic Team.[11]
Milton holds the open Australian downhill speed skiing record, beating the top recorded speeds by able-bodied skiers. His personal best downhill speed is 213 km/h (132 mph).[3]
Other athletic achievements[edit]
On 7 July 2013 Milton broke the world record for running a marathon with crutches.[12] It was Milton’s first attempt at a marathon, and he finished the course in 5:23:30.[12]
Milton has also walked the Kokoda Track twice and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro.[13]
Recognition[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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