Michael John Milton, OAM is an Australian Paralympicskier, Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlete 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. He grew up into a skiing family, and after losing his leg he was determined to be able to ski again.
Skiing
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. 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. At the 2014 Sochi Games, he was the assistant alpine skiing coach of the Australian Paralympic Team. Milton holds the open Australian downhill speed skiing record, beating the top recorded speeds by able-bodied skiers. His personal best downhill speed is.
Other athletic achievements
On 7 July 2013 Milton broke the world record for running a marathon with crutches. It was Milton's first attempt at a marathon, and he finished the course in 5:23:30. Milton has also walked the Kokoda Track twice and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro.
