By Joanna Guelas in Cortina d’Ampezzo

“Pathetic” is how an emotional Michael Milton described his first Paralympics race in 20 years, with the Australian para-alpine ski great shaking off the rust at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Less than 25 days after undergoing surgery for a leg fracture, the 52-year-old Milton finished 23rd in the men’s super-G standing event on Monday (local time) in Cortina.

Fellow alpine skier Josh Hanlon crashed out of the men’s sitting event, a day after Ben Tudhope claimed SB-LL2 snowboard cross silver for Australia’s first medal of the Games.

Australia’s most decorated winter Paralympian with 11 medals, including six golds, the Canberra local held back tears as he reflected on his run down the Olympia delle Tofane course.

It is his sixth Paralympics – 38 years after his first, having initially retired after the 2006 Torino Games.

“I’m proud of the effort, but certainly the skiing was a bit pathetic,” Milton said.

“My emotions are ruling me. I tried to control them all morning.

“You can only hold on for so long, can’t you?

“I’m an experienced athlete, and I can lean on that, but I’m also a bit rusty.

“One of the things you come back for is the emotion.

“It’s the pressure. It’s the feeling of standing in the start, shitting in your pants, because you’re scared of what you’re about to ski down.”

A leg injury almost derailed his comeback, with Milton suffering a fracture in his femur while training in the US in February.

He needed surgery to fix a fracture at the top of his amputated left leg.

Milton had lost his leg to bone cancer as a nine-year-old, and has battled cancer twice since 2006, having had bowel cancer in 2023.

He will also compete in slalom and giant slalom after pulling out of the downhill event due to his injury.

Milton’s wife Penni and two teenage children were able to watch Milton from the stands after spending a week stranded in Doha following the US’s joint military strikes with Israel on Iran.

“I’m pretty sure my kids will be going, ‘I’ve seen you ski better’,” Milton said.

Milton is now Australia’s oldest winter Paralympian in the event’s 50-year history, returning to the Games at 52 years 350 days.

Hanlon was similarly left wanting, given he has now crashed in his first two events – enduring the same fate in the men’s downhill event on the opening day of competition.

The former GWS academy player was one of seven of the 27-strong field who failed to finish the course on Monday, as New Zealand’s Corey Peters finished sixth.

Asked what the level of frustration was, Hanlon said: “Yeah, pretty high.

“I haven’t DNF’d a whole heap, so it is frustrating to go two for two.

“I think I still need to go for it. What’s the point in coming last? Might as well go out and try and win it.”

Hanlon, competing in his second Paralympics, will return for the combined, giant slalom and slalom events.

Varvara Voronchikhina took out the women’s super-G standing event to win Russia’s first gold medal at the Games, with the Russian national anthem played for the first time at a Paralympics or Olympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.

AAP travelled to Cortina d’Ampezzo as a guest of Paralympics Australia.