‘A bit pathetic’: Six-time gold medallist makes emotional Paralympic return

Cortina: The small village of Cortina D’Ampezzo sits low in a basin surrounded by walls of sedimentary rock that form the Dolomite mountain range in far northern Italy. In winter, a thick white powder reaches up these cliffs like a blanket tucked under a child’s chin.

But any illusion that these mountains offer a protective comfort to the town is shattered by the arresting presence of Tofane di Mezzo and the ski slope that starts just beneath it. It’s this course, with its rich Olympic and World Cup history, which claimed Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic hopes just weeks ago. And it’s the same course which on Monday became the setting for the comeback of Australia’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, 20 years after his last.

Michael Milton returns to the Paralympics in Milano Cortina, 20 years after his last Winter Games.Credit: Getty Images

Six-time gold medallist Michael Milton, 52, returned to the Paralympics at the top of that menacing mountain in the alpine skiing super-G standing event. To many competitors, it is satisfaction enough to finish the race, let alone place in the top 20, as Milton did. But having climbed an equally challenging metaphorical mountain to get to that point, the satisfaction didn’t arrive.

“Given where I’ve come from over the last month … [it was a] super tough day,” Milton said at the finish line. “Standing in the start, trying to be ready to push, trying to be ready to ski fast. And I’m proud of the effort, but certainly, the skiing was a bit pathetic.”

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Since competing at his last Winter Games in 2006, Milton was diagnosed with his second and third cancers after becoming an amputee as a child due to a rare and aggressive bone cancer. Less than a year after his second diagnosis, of oesophageal cancer, he became just the fourth Australian to compete in both a Summer and Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

In the last month alone, he fractured his femur – his second broken bone since his third diagnosis of bowel cancer. He underwent surgery on the femur and was only cleared to ski again last week. All the while, his family, including his two inspirations to return to the Paralympics – his children Matilda and Angus – spent five days stuck in transit in Doha.

But the weight of 20 years and the burdens of the past month were no heavier than Milton’s own expectations to conquer Cortina’s tormenting slope at a standard comparable to his past self.

“Although I’ve done a lot of scary stuff, like skiing super fast and racing, I’m the sort of person who usually, maybe less so today, has the mental discipline to control that fear. Certainly, I was better at that 20 years ago than I am now, at least on the evidence so far today,” he said.

“But you can only hold it for so long, can’t you? And now I’ve finished the run.”

But Monday’s run would not be Milton’s final chance at the mountain, with three more events still to come. And while there are more favourable mountains in the world to attempt a comeback, which may have offered a greater guarantee of a fairytale return, Milton is yet to concede to Tofane.

The ominous slope below Tofane di Mezzo.Credit: Getty Images

“Certainly, there’s a lot in this hill,” he said. “It’s not a consistent down the mountain. It’s left and right, and rolls and jumps, and shadow and light. So there’s a lot to learn, and I’m looking forward to skiing better tomorrow.”

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Milton races again on Tuesday in the men’s alpine combined slalom.

“One of the things you come back for is the emotion. It’s the pressure. It’s the feeling of standing in the start, shitting your pants because you’re scared of what you’re about to ski down and then having the mental side of things to be able to overcome that,” he said.

“[I’ll] take something from today, get a little bit angry at skiing like I did, and come out with a bit more confidence and certainly some more aggression tomorrow.”

This masthead has travelled to Cortina as a guest of Paralympics Australia.

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