Milton lines up for first ever Australian Paratriathlon Championships

Michael Milton was one of 20 athletes to line up for the first Australian Paratriathlon Championships in Penrith in January.

Among the starters were other Paralympic legends, including wheelchair racer Louise Savauge, rower John McLean and Bill Chaffey, the five-time world champion in his class.

"What an honour it was to be racing with those guys," said Milton who has contested the last two ITU World Paratriathlon Championships in Beijing in 2011 and Auckland in 2012 - his best result coming in Beijing, where he finished fourth.

In Penrith he was the only person competing in his Tri 2 class for athletes who run with crutches or above-knee prosthesis. His finish time of 1:26.38 was his fastest ever for a sprint distance race (750m swim, 20km ride, 5km run), despite the run leg being "a bit awful".

"Depending on geography and race conditions, some courses are shorter than the official sprint distance which makes it hard to compare.

"If anything, this course was a little longer so I'm really happy with my time, especially as I know there are improvements to be made in the run," explained Milton.

Paratriathlon will debut at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio and Milton sits on the Triathlon Australia committee that has the task of promoting the sport and ensuring we are well represented in three years time.

"It's exciting to be part of the process and to be involved in a new sport. This first national Championships was an important milestone in the sport's development and I think numbers will continue to grow," said Milton.