Military Man’s Mission Is Milano Cortina

Courtesy Paralympics Australia

For 20 years Dave Miln has been a serving member of the military, 15 years with the British and, ever since, with the Australian Defence Force.  

The mindset created by that background has proved a powerful asset to Miln’s ability to, as he says, knuckle down, persevere and get through a challenge.  

In his sport of Para-biathlon, persistence and resilience are paramount. Just as those qualities of his have been tested to the limit by Miln’s enormous life adjustment after acquiring his impairment.  

“I’ve been into winter sports from a very early age. I was brought up skiing and did some downhill competition before the accident, mostly at UK Navy team-sort of level,” he said.  

“But since the accident, things have changed. I’ve been trying to adapt to new ways of doing things, finding old passions but adapting them to where I am now. Being an upright skier and moving into a sit-ski has been a big change for me. But I’m loving where it’s taking me at the moment, certainly from the sporting side of things.” 

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.  

“It’s still a hard road two years down the line since I’ve had my prosthetic legs,” he said. 

“Every day is a learning day. Every day is painful. But you do what you can, and you motivate yourself where you can.” 

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 World Cup and Paralympian, showing he can compete at the highest level.  

“I’m very new into the sport and there’s a lot of ground to cover between now and next year,” Miln said, alluding to the 2026 Paralympics.  

“I’ve got a long way to grow in terms of an individual and as an athlete as well. So, I’m focusing on those bits at the moment.  

“You have it in the back of your mind. You’re thinking about thinking about March next year and the Paralympic Games and, the, the how incredible it would be to, three years post-accident, to be there on the international stage, competing for the country.” 

Whether or not he makes it to Milano Cortina, Miln loves being part of the Para-sport community. 

“Everyone has a story. 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.”