Entered in the men's downhill at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Milne died of a head injury after he lost control during a training run at Patscherkofel and struck a tree at more than 60 miles per hour.[1][3][4][5] Milne's death was the second fatality at the 1964 Winter Games. Three days prior, British luge racer Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki died from injuries sustained in a training run.[6]
An inquiry held by the organising committee said that he "caught an edge". Hugh Weir reported to the Australian Olympic Federation that
Because Ross Milne was only seventeen years of age, the question was raised at the [Innsbruck] IOC meeting as to whether inexperienced people were being sent to compete in ... snow sports which contain an element of danger.
Dr Blaxland said that he was wrong about his age (Milne was nineteen),[7] and that the IOC was wrong to suggest he was inexperienced:
In our view Ross Milne was an extremely competent skier. He had competed in Australian championships at least four years before, and we considered him to be an experienced skier. He had been in Europe before ... His fall was not due to lack of skill on his part
Manager John Wagner said that Milne had found the path 150 metres (500 ft) ahead of him obscured by contestants congregating because the top part of the downhill course was overcrowded, and tried to slow down "on a spot which was not prepared for stopping or swinging". He argued that the accident might have been prevented by stricter management of the downhill course, which had a hundred racers on it. He also said that "any of the top skiers would probably have been in difficulty in a similar situation."
Following Milne's death and a serious injury to Edmund Schaedler of Liechtenstein,[3] some minor safety improvements were made to the downhill course prior to the race on 30 January.[8]
Milne had learned to ski at Falls Creek ski area in the Australian Alps and had spent the previous winter of 1963 racing in Europe. He was buried in his home town of Myrtleford in Victoria, where his family farmed tobacco.[7][9]
Milne's younger brother Malcolm (b. 1948) competed on the World Cup circuit and in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics. The suggestion that racers from Australia and New Zealand should not compete on downhill courses gave him motivation to prove otherwise. He became the first non-European to win a men's World Cup downhill race in December 1969, held at Val-d'Isère, France. It was also the first World Cup podium by an alpine racer from the southern hemisphere.
Referencesedit
^ abFindling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Press. p. 347. ISBN0-313-32278-3.
^"Ross Milne". Olympedia. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
The Guardian – The forgotten story of Ross Milne – 22 January 1964
Australian Women's Weekly – Ski champion at 18 – 9 October 1963
Sports Fan – Aussie's 1964 Olympic ski death still raw – 21 January 2014
April 10, 2024
ross, milne, alpine, skier, canadian, politician, ross, milne, politician, leslie, ross, milne, october, 1944, january, 1964, alpine, racer, from, australia, ross, milnepersonal, informationborn, 1944, october, 1944victoria, australiadied25, january, 1964, 196. For the Canadian politician see Ross Milne politician Leslie Ross Milne 4 October 1944 25 January 1964 1 2 was an alpine ski racer from Australia Ross MilnePersonal informationBorn 1944 10 04 4 October 1944Victoria AustraliaDied25 January 1964 1964 01 25 aged 19 Innsbruck AustriaOccupationAlpine skierSkiing careerDisciplinesDownhill giant slalom slalomClubFalls CreekOlympicsTeams1 1964 Entered in the men s downhill at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck Milne died of a head injury after he lost control during a training run at Patscherkofel and struck a tree at more than 60 miles per hour 1 3 4 5 Milne s death was the second fatality at the 1964 Winter Games Three days prior British luge racer Kazimierz Kay Skrzypecki died from injuries sustained in a training run 6 An inquiry held by the organising committee said that he caught an edge Hugh Weir reported to the Australian Olympic Federation that Because Ross Milne was only seventeen years of age the question was raised at the Innsbruck IOC meeting as to whether inexperienced people were being sent to compete in snow sports which contain an element of danger Dr Blaxland said that he was wrong about his age Milne was nineteen 7 and that the IOC was wrong to suggest he was inexperienced In our view Ross Milne was an extremely competent skier He had competed in Australian championships at least four years before and we considered him to be an experienced skier He had been in Europe before His fall was not due to lack of skill on his partManager John Wagner said that Milne had found the path 150 metres 500 ft ahead of him obscured by contestants congregating because the top part of the downhill course was overcrowded and tried to slow down on a spot which was not prepared for stopping or swinging He argued that the accident might have been prevented by stricter management of the downhill course which had a hundred racers on it He also said that any of the top skiers would probably have been in difficulty in a similar situation Following Milne s death and a serious injury to Edmund Schaedler of Liechtenstein 3 some minor safety improvements were made to the downhill course prior to the race on 30 January 8 Milne had learned to ski at Falls Creek ski area in the Australian Alps and had spent the previous winter of 1963 racing in Europe He was buried in his home town of Myrtleford in Victoria where his family farmed tobacco 7 9 Milne s younger brother Malcolm b 1948 competed on the World Cup circuit and in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics The suggestion that racers from Australia and New Zealand should not compete on downhill courses gave him motivation to prove otherwise He became the first non European to win a men s World Cup downhill race in December 1969 held at Val d Isere France It was also the first World Cup podium by an alpine racer from the southern hemisphere References edit a b Findling John E Pelle Kimberly D 2004 Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement Greenwood Press p 347 ISBN 0 313 32278 3 Ross Milne Olympedia OlyMADMen Retrieved 5 February 2022 a b Australian skier killed in Olympic drill Sarasota Herald Tribune Associated Press 26 January 1964 p 41 via Google News Aussie s Milne dies of injuries Bend OR Bulletin UPI 25 January 1964 p 5 via Google News Watts Franklin 1965 The New York Times sports almanac New York p 169 OCLC 2414705 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Australian Skier Dies in Alpine Fall The Age 27 January 1964 via Newspapers com a b Skier s body to be flown home Sydney Morning Herald 27 January 1964 p 5 via Google News Treacherous Olympics downhill run is made safer Spokesman Review Associated Press 27 January 1964 p 8 via Google News 300 attend funeral of Games skier The Age Melbourne Australia 31 January 1964 p 18 via Google News Gordon Harry Australia and the Olympic Games ISBN 0 7022 2627 0 External links editThe Guardian The forgotten story of Ross Milne 22 January 1964 Australian Women s Weekly Ski champion at 18 9 October 1963 Sports Fan Aussie s 1964 Olympic ski death still raw 21 January 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ross Milne alpine skier amp oldid 1172598007, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
