Michael Milton has set himself another huge challenge with the multi-sport athlete aiming to win selection for his sixth Winter Paralympics, 20 years after his last.
Australia's most decorated Winter Paralympian with 11 skiing medals including six gold, 52-year-old Milton last competed in Torino in 2006, when he won silver in the men's downhill.
Losing a leg to bone cancer as a nine-year-old, he also competed in the cycling at the Beijing 2008 summer Games, the world triathlon championships, climbed Africa's highest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro, and completed the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea twice.
His results at this year's para-alpine national championships, where he won both the giant slalom and slalom, mean he has already qualified to race in the World Cup series in giant slalom.
The wins at home come just five months after Milton broke a hip in Austria while preparing to ski the Haute Route, a challenging seven day tour from Mt Blanc to the Matterhorn.
The Canberran, who has battled cancer three times, said while skiing in Thredbo this season he locked in on the next Paralympics, in Italy next March, as his next goal.
"I have always thrived on big challenges and, having survived cancer for a third time, I need them now more than ever," Milton said.
"The recovery from my fall has been tough but, while skiing in Thredbo over winter, I realised that the 2026 Paralympic Games could be my next big project, that it could provide the motivation I need to get out of bed each day, to train and to be as healthy as I can be."
Milton has only five months to qualify for the Australian Paralympic team and has set himself the ambitious target of competing in five alpine events - slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, and the combined (downhill and slalom).
He will head to Austria next month to train on a glacier and then race from December, hoping to post qualifying times for each discipline by mid-February.
"I've already produced the results to qualify in giant slalom and I'm confident I can work hard and race well enough in Europe to post the times I need to also compete in the other four disciplines," he said.
"At 52, I may not be as fit and strong as once was but I definitely have experience and mental toughness on my side."
As he's not part of the current Australian squad, Milton is self-funding his training and competition and is hopeful of getting some sponsors on board to assist with costs.
