Michael Milton (skier)

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Michael Milton
File:Xx0188 - 1988 winter paralympics - 3b - scans (11).jpg
Michael Milton at the 1988 Winter Paralympics
Personal information
Full name Michael John Milton
Nationality Australian
Born (1973-03-21) 21 March 1973 (age 51)
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Medal record
Men's Paralympic Alpine Skiing
Gold medal – first place 1992 Albertville, France Slalom
Gold medal – first place 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Giant Slalom
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City Downhill
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City Super-G
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City Giant Slalom
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City Slalom
Silver medal – second place 1992 Albertville, France Super-G
Silver medal – second place 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Slalom
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin, Italy Downhill
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Downhill
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Super-G

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 he is the most successful Australian Paralympic Athlete in the Winter Games.

Personal

Milton was born in Canberra. 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.

Skiing

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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]

File:201000 - Opening Ceremony paralympians Michael Milton Lisa Llorens torch - 3b - 2000 Sydney opening ceremony photo.jpg
Australian athlete Lisa Llorens passes the Paralympic flame to Milton during the torch relay at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Opening Ceremony

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]

File:Dd0394- Lillehammer Winter Games, M.Milton - 3b- scanned photo (2).jpg
Michael Milton at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games

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

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 Kilamanjaro.[13]

Recognition

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'
  9. ↑ "Michael Milton – is there anything this man can't do?" – Australian Alpine News, Early Season 2006.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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