Jindabyne skier wins gold in Salt Lake City

[antiquity]

Jindabyne skier wins gold in Salt Lake City


There has been local success on the first day of competition at the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States.

Jindabyne skier and current world champion, Michael Milton, won gold in the amputee class of the downhill event.

Michael, formerly of Canberra, moved to Jindabyne several years ago to participate in the Jindabyne Winter Sports Academy elite skiing program.

Another gold medal was won by blind downhill skier, Bart Bunting, from Sydney.

Australian team manager, Ron Finneran, from Merimbula, who is in Salt Lake City with the athletes, says the competition is thrilling.

"It is absolutely magnificent, the weather was superb, there wasn't a breath of wind, there was beautiful snow and there were literally thousands of Americans from Salt Lake City turned up to see the event," he said.

"It was really a very, very special day capped off with wins by Bart Bunting and Michael Milton [putting] Australia well up there in the medal count at the moment."

Monday 11 March, 2002

10:49am AEDT