Lillehammer 1994: Michael Milton – Paralympic skiing

Skiing champion Michael Milton OAM is Australia’s most successful Winter Paralympic medallist with 11 medals in total, 6 of them gold.

The Canberra local, who had his left leg amputated above the knee when he was 9 years old due to bone cancer, represented Australia at the Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994, Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006 Winter Paralympic Games. He is also a Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlon competitor.

This story from Capital Television News broadcast on 13 April 1994 is from relatively early in his dazzling career.

Milton's down-to-earth demeanour exemplifies the grounded, humble and adventurous spirit that Australian sportspeople are renowned for.

He is a great example of Australia’s incredibly adaptive and skilled para-athletes. In addition to to competing in the slalom, giant slalom, downhill and super-giant slalom (or Super-G as it’s known) events, he also holds the open Australian downhill speed skiing record, beating the top speeds of all skiers with a personal best speed of 213 km/h.

In July 2013 he broke the world record for running a marathon on crutches. He’s also walked the Kokoda Track twice and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro.

The reporter is Gabrielle Hallinan.

Notes by Beth Taylor