Ross Milne was an Australian Olympic

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

 downhill skier who died when he struck a tree during a practice run three days before the 1964 Winter Olympics

1964 Winter Olympics

The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...

 in Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, Austria.

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 (he was nineteen), 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 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".

His brother Malcolm Milne

Malcolm Milne

Malcolm Milne is a former Australian Olympic skier.In 1968, at the age of 19, Malcolm competed in his first Olympics at Grenoble, France. In an era dominated by Jean-Claude Killy, Malcolm finished twenty-fourth of eighty-six starters, with a time only 5.51 seconds behind Killy...

 competed in the 1968

1968 Winter Olympics

The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...

 and 1972

1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...

Winter Olympics. He said that the suggestion that skiers from Australia and New Zealand should not compete on downhill courses gave him motivation to prove that they were capable of doing so.