Dave Miln’s affinity with the snow dates to his earliest years. More recently, he competed in downhill skiing for the British Navy team. Miln has been a serving member of the military for 20 years, 15 years with the British and, ever since, with the Australian Defence Force.
The military mindset of perseverance through adversity has served Miln well since he acquired his impairment, which has led to him changing from an upright skier to a sit-skier and Milano Cortina aspirant.
Miln was working for the ADF in the US in 2022 when he took his family on a skiing holiday in Northern California. Carrying his one-year-old daughter Anna and guiding his three-year-old daughter Isla, they came face to face with a large snow removal machine. Miln slipped and fell towards the blades, turning his body to protect his children. The two girls were pulled out, the eldest with broken legs and pelvis, but Miln was stuck for an hour.
After two days in an induced coma and 17 days in intensive care, he was transported home to Australia where he spent another two months in hospital and seven weeks in rehabilitation. His left leg had been amputated above the knee and his right below the knee, along with various other injuries, including spinal fractures.
Miln first competed for Australia in Para cross-country and Para biathlon – known as the Para nordic sports – in Canada in late 2024, where he was classified for international competition. He was Australia’s flag bearer at the Invictus Games a couple of months later and won a silver medal in Para biathlon, second to an Italian Paralympic hopeful, showing he can compete at the highest level.
Miln said the support he’s received within sport has been motivating.
“Everyone has a story,” he said. “Everyone’s had hardships of some sort to put them in the position that they’re in, whether it’s new or it’s something that they’ve grown up with.
“The way everybody rallies around each other and supports each other is unlike any other community I think you’ll ever find. It pushes me to do more and be more.”
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