Michael Milton elevated to Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame

Australia’s most successful Winter Paralympic athlete, Michael Milton, has been elevated to Legend status by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. 

Milton was recognised along with squash player Geoff Hunt as the the 50th and 51st Legends, the pair were acknowledged for their longevity, determination and resilience, and excellence in their respective sports. 

Milton made his first Winter Paralympic team at just 14 years of age at Innsbruck 1988, going on to appear at five Games. He went on to bring home 11 Winter Paralympic medals, six of them gold. 

His was a remarkable journey from making history as the nation’s first Winter Paralympics/Olympics gold medallist – in the Slalom in Albertville, France, in 1992 – to becoming just the fourth Australian to also compete at a Summer Paralympics after qualifying for three different cycling events in 2008 in Beijing aged 35.

Incredibly, following a second gold medal in Lillehammer in 1994, Milton swept all four alpine titles (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill and Super G) at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 before retiring from his original sport.

In 2006, he set a speed skiing record of 213.65kph, an Australian record and a world record for a person with a disability.

Milton had also excelled at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, winning a total of six gold medals between 1996 and 2004.

Image: Bill Bachman

Having overcome oesophageal cancer, Milton then turned to cycling, completing his Paralympics career at his sixth Games at Beijing 2008.

Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as an Athlete member in 2014, Milton has overcome what for many would be insurmountable obstacles

At nine, his left leg was amputated due to osteosarcoma. In 2007, he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, for which there is a five-year survival rate of just 20 per cent.

Last November, cancer was detected for a third time, as Milton had surgery to remove a tumour from his bowel.

Motivated by the desire to explore his limits and potential, the Canberran was named the 2002 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability among many other national and international awards.

He has also represented his country at two World Para Triathlon Championships, completed an ultra-marathon on crutches, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and twice walked the Kokoda Track.

Milton said being elevated to join the Legends of Australian sport is an honour he will treasure, and one that came with a major element of surprise.

“You look through the list of names and struggle to compare your own name and achievements, but I guess the good part of that is that I’m not the judge and so I don’t have to decide whether I’m worthy or not,” he said. “I feel very comfortable leaving that to others.

“Not long after that I started flicking through the list, going ‘Oh, OK, are there any Winter athletes here? Ooh, no. That makes me the first. That’s very cool.

“Are there any Paralympians on here? Yes, Louise [Sauvage] is here. So I can be the second.

“A lot of the Legends on the list are, sadly, no longer with us. As a three-time cancer survivor, I’m just happy this isn’t a posthumous award.’’

Asked how being elevated as a Legend amplified his earlier recognition as an Inductee, Milton said: “I guess I’m a little bit older and fatter and slower than I used to be, so certainly it’s a nice reminder and takes me back to my previous life as a professional athlete, and I guess I’m more distant from that than last time. Last time I was still kind of ‘amongst it’.

“Is it a different honour? Yes, absolutely. So being inducted to a Sports Hall of Fame, especially SAHOF, is amazing and wonderful, but taking the next step to a Legend is a big step in terms of who they judge to be worthy and how you look back at your own career, and gauging how others might see it.’’ 

Snow Australia CEO Michael Kennedy said Milton’s elevation to Legend status in the SAHOF was a worthy honour for a groundbreaking athlete.

“The term ‘Legend’ is thrown around a lot in sport but when it comes to Michael Milton, that status is certainly deserved,” he said. “His achievements in Australian Para Alpine skiing were unprecedented at the time he competed and they have still not been surpassed nearly two decades after his last Winter Paralympic Games.

“Michael was certainly a pioneer who has been an inspiration to many and on behalf of the Australian snowsports community, I congratulate him on receiving this tremendous honour.”

The annual Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala Dinner will celebrate their achievements at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne on Monday November 18.