Michael Milton was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2014 as an Athlete Member and was elevated to Legend of Australian Sport in 2024 for his contribution to the sport of Alpine Skiing (Para Athlete).

Michael Milton was Australia’s most successful Paralympic athlete at the Winter Games, winning 11 medals (including six golds) from five appearances.
His alpine skiing dominance provided an inspiration for both disabled and able-bodied athletes, not just for his determination and never-say-die attitude in competition but also for the way he encountered – and overcome – significant personal obstacles.
Having had his left leg amputated when he was nine, when fighting bone cancer, Milton refused to let his life-changing moment stop him from embarking on an extraordinary career.
It took him to five winter Paralympics – the first when he was two months short of his 15th birthday – and also to one summer Paralympics, when he swapped skiing for cycling.
In all, Milton won a full assortment of medals in his Paralympic journey, with six gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
He made history at Albertville, France in 1992 as the first Australian to win a winter Paralympic gold medal – in the Slalom – before backing up that performance with a second gold two years later in Lillehammer, Norway in the Giant Slalom.
He won a clean sweep of four gold medals at Salt Lake City, US, in 2002 – taking out the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill and Super G.
Then after retiring from alpine skiing, and fighting cancer for a second time, Milton turned his attention towards cycling.
He went on to make the 2008 Paralympics team in Beijing, competing in three different events at the age of 35.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993, was Australian Paralympian of the Year and World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 1992, and was inducted into Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2022.

Michael Milton has always thrived on pushing himself to the limits, exploring the outer reaches of what is possible.
It’s a thirst that has driven him throughout his life, helping him become Australia’s most successful Winter Paralympian and one of the respected athletes of his generation.
He once explained it this way: “I like to do things that test me, both mentally and physically … I think in the end that’s what motivates me, to try and explore my limits and my potential as a human being.”
In pushing the limits, Milton had to overcome a number of challenges, including having his left leg amputated as a nine-year-old after battling osteosarcoma – a cancer that starts in the bones – as well as two other cancer fights in adulthood.
Throughout the health challenges, and five winter Paralympics and one summer Paralympics, Milton pushed his body and his mind to the limits to reach his sporting goals.
He even pushed himself to a speed that no Australian had reached previously. In 2006 he hit a speed of 213.65kph to become the fastest Australian on skis in 2006 when he tackled one of the steepest slopes in the world, France’s Les Arcs.
As Milton said when he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2014: “The most challenging part about living with a disability has been the low expectations of most people I have come across.”
“Success for me has often involved rising above the expectations of others or even flying in the face of those who genuinely think I can’t achieve a goal I’ve set myself.”
Milton grew up in a skiing family. He was a natural on the slopes, and even after he lost his leg, refused to let that stop him from chasing his dreams.
He once told the Herald Sun: “The first impact of having your leg amputated is tough … I remember throwing my prosthesis out of a second-storey window going ‘I want a real leg, not a stupid metal one’.
“Times were tough; not just losing the leg, but going through the chemo, losing your hair, halving your weight … all of those things. But I’ve always thought, ‘tough is not a bad thing’.”
Milton was only 14 – two months off his 15th birthday – when he represented Australia at the first of what would be five Winter Paralympics, at Innsbruck, in 1988.
Four years later, at Albertville, he won the first of six Paralympic gold medals, in the Slalom, becoming the first Australian to win a winter gold (in either a Paralympics or an Olympics).
He won a second gold in Lillehammer, in 1994, in the Giant Slalom.
Milton’s alpine skiing dominance was almost complete when he stunned the world by winning four Paralympic gold medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City games, winning a historic clean sweep of the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill and Super G events.
It was recognised when he won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability that year, an award presented in Monaco, where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of international superstars Serena Williams and Ronaldo.
He took his Paralympic winter medal tally to 11 in 2006 when he won a silver in the Downhill at Turin.
He also excelled at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, winning a total of six gold medals between 1996 and 2004.
But Milton wasn’t finished. He embraced a new challenge of aiming to become the fourth Australian to compete in both a winter and summer Paralympic Games – as a cyclist.
He had to overcome more hurdles in the process, overcoming oesophageal cancer to qualify for and compete in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
Even after calling time on his Paralympic career, Milton went on to new endeavours and new challenges in a variety of pursuits.
Aside from his array of medals, he also won countless laurels including the Order of Australia (1993), Australian Paralympian of the Year (2002), the AIS ‘Best of the Best’ Hall of Fame (2001) and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2014).
As Rob de Castella said when Milton was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame: “Michael Milton not only defies limits, he destroys them!”

Honours & Achievements

• 1993: Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
• 1993/1994: Skiing Australia Skier of the Year
• 2001: Named in the AIS ‘Best of the Best’ Hall of Fame
• 2002: Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
• 2002: Named Australian Paralympian of the Year
• 2022: Inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame