Michael Milton (skier)

Michael Milton

Michael Milton at the 1988 Winter Paralympics
Personal information
Full name	Michael John Milton
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1973-03-21) 21 March 1973 (age 44) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Medal record Men's Paralympic Alpine Skiing 1992 Albertville, France Slalom 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Giant Slalom 2002 Salt Lake City Downhill 2002 Salt Lake City Super-G 2002 Salt Lake City Giant Slalom 2002 Salt Lake City Slalom 1992 Albertville, France Super-G 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Slalom 2006 Turin, Italy Downhill 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Downhill 1994 Lillehammer, Norway Super-G

Michael John Milton OAM (born 21 March 1973) is an Australian Paralympic skier, Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlete with one leg. With 6 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze he is the most successful Australian Paralympic Athlete in the Winter Games.

Milton was born in Canberra. His left leg was amputated above the knee when he was nine years old due to bone cancer. 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.

Milton participated but did not win any medals at the 1988 Innsbruck Winter Paralympics. 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, and a silver medal in the Men's Super-G LW2 event. He became the first Australian to win a gold medal at a winter Olympics or Paralympics. 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. 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. In January 1996, he won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the World Skiing Championships held in Austria.

In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal. In 2001, he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'. 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. 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. At the 2006 Turin Winter Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the Men's Downhill standing event.