It’s official: Michael Milton is a . . . LEGEND

Paralympics luminary, Michael Milton OAM, a member of the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) alumni, has joined squash champion Geoff Hunt AM MBE in becoming this year’s recipients of the nation’s highest sporting honour.

Elevated as Legends in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Hunt and Milton have been recognised for not just their excellence but also for their longevity, determination and resilience.

The revered pair are just the 50^th (Hunt) and 51^st (Milton) Legends since 1993, joining inaugural trio Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AC MBE and Sir Hubert Opperman OBE, and more recent recipients including Cathy Freeman OAM, Shane Warne AO and fellow NSWIS Scholarship holder, Ian Thorpe AM.

Their elevation will be celebrated at the annual Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Gala Dinner at Crown Palladium in Melbourne on Monday November 18 – as will the Induction of the eight new Members and the annual winners of The Don and The Dawn awards.

Fellow Legend and SAHOF chair John Bertrand AO hailed the extraordinary contributions of Hunt and Milton to Australian sport and said their elevation was richly deserved.

“The Sport Australia Hall of Fame is delighted to honour Geoff and Michael as Legends of their nation,’’ Bertrand said.

“Both are inspirations within their respective sports, but also beyond, and admired and respected around not just Australia but the world.

“Like the 49 Legends before them, both Geoff and Michael have left an indelible mark on the history of sport in this country, through achievements that inspired generations to follow.’’

Sport Australia Hall of Fame Members must be retired for 15 years before being considered for Legend status, with the elevation voted by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Board based on recommendations by the organisation’s Selection Committee.

Michael Milton OAM – Alpine skiing (Para Athlete)

The Legend

Milton is Australia’s most successful Paralympic Winter Games athlete, with 11 medals (six gold, three silver and two bronze) from five appearances – the first aged just 14.

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. Having overcome oesophageal cancer, Milton then turned to cycling, completing his Paralympics career at his sixth Games in 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 Paratriathlon 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. 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.’’ 

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards program is proudly supported by the Australian Sports Commission incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport, and partners Ampol, Sportscover and Deakin University.

Sport Australia, Hall of Fame