
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
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.