Michael Milton is Australia’s most successful Winter Paralympian and is only the fourth Australian to compete in both the winter and summer Paralympic Games.
During his career of more than two decades, he’s won 11 Paralympic medals, including 6 gold and 6 World Championship titles.
In 1992 he won Australia’s first ever winter gold medal – Paralympic or Olympic – in the Men’s Slalom LW2 event. He won a silver medal in the Super G at the same Games. In 2000 and in 2002 he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport’s ‘Best of the Best’.
Michael’s success continued at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Paralympic Games where he won 4 gold medals, a clean sweep of the alpine skiing events in his class and was named the Laureus World Athlete of the Year with a Disability.
Looking for a new challenge, Michael took up speed skiing and, in his rookie year, broke the world record for a skier with a disability. He bettered his speed each year, breaking the 200km/h barrier in 2005 then 12 months later, set a new open Australian record with a speed of 213.65km/h. He still holds both the world record for a skier with a disability and the Australian open record.
After his fifth and last winter Paralympic Games where he won a silver medal, Michael turned to cycling. In February 2007, he won a gold medal at the Australian Track Cycling Championships in record time and was selected to compete at the Para-cycling World Track Championships in France. Michael pulled out of the Australian team after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time.
After treatment and a major operation, he made an amazing comeback to record times at the 2008 Australian Track Cycling Championships comparable to what he had achieved twelve months prior and, in June 2008, Michael earned the final spot on the 18-strong Australian Paralympic Cycling Team bound for Beijing.
Michael continues to train, race, compete and explore including the paratriathlon with two world championships and races mountain bikes, adventure races, run a marathon on crutches and started his own adventure touring business.
PARALYMPIC SKIING
Born: 21 March 1973
Inducted: 2015
Full Member