Michael Milton (skier)
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Full name | Michael John Milton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | 21 March 1973|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years active | 1988–2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Para-alpine skiing and cycling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | LW2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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[]
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.
Skiing[]
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[]
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[]
- 1992 – Medal of the Order of Australia
- 2000 – Australian Sports Medal
- 2001 – Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best' inductee
- 2002 – Australian Paralympian of the Year[14]
- 2002 – Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
- 2007 – Australian Capital Territory Australian of the Year.
- 2014 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee [15]
- 2015 – ACT Sports Hall of Fame inductee [16]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Milton, Michael John, OAM". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ "Legends line up for Paratriathlon". Triathlon Australia. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Roberts, Michael, ed. (2008). Great Australian Sporting Moments. Melbourne, Victoria: The Miegunyah Press. p. 138. ISBN 9780522855470.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "The history of people with disabilities in Australia – 100 years: Sport". Disability Services Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ Australian Paralympic Federation (1997). "1996 – Highlights of the Year in Review". Australian Paralympic Federation Annual Report. Australia: Australian Paralympic Federation: 8.
- ^ "Milton, Michael John: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best' Archived 17 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Michael Milton – is there anything this man can't do?" – Australian Alpine News, Early Season 2006.
- ^ "Ski Star Milton to cycle in Beijing". The Age. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
- ^ Homfray, Reece (5 March 2014). "Australian team calls on Winter Paralympic legend Michael Milton for Sochi". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Paralympian Milton sets marathon world record". ABC News. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Six-time Paralympian strives for Guinness World Record". Gold Coast Marathon "Run Gold Coast". Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Australian Paralympian of the Year". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ "Lawry and Milton inducted into The Sport Australia Hall of Fame". Sport Australia Hall of Fame News. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Gul, Jonathon (23 November 2015). "Nine Canberra athletes added to ACT Sport Hall of Fame". ABC News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Milton. |
- Official website
- Michael Milton at the International Ski Federation
- Michael Milton at the International Paralympic Committee
- Michael Milton at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
- Michael Milton at Olympedia
- "Speed king on one leg"[dead link]
- Australian male cyclists
- Australian male alpine skiers
- Australian male triathletes
- Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic skiers
- Laureus World Sports Awards winners
- Amputee category Paralympic competitors
- Australian amputees
- Paralympic alpine skiers of Australia
- Paralympic cyclists of Australia
- Paratriathletes of Australia
- Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Paralympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Paralympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Paralympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Paralympic coaches of Australia
- Coaches at the 2014 Winter Paralympics
- Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1992 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1994 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
- Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia
- People educated at Canberra Grammar School
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
- Sportspeople from Canberra
- Sportsmen from the Australian Capital Territory
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Cyclists from the Australian Capital Territory
- ACT Academy of Sport alumni
- Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing