Mike Dixon (biathlete)

Staff Sergeant Michael Dixon (born 21 November 1962 in Fort William, Scotland), is a combat engineer in the British Armed Forces who has represented Great Britain at six Olympic Games in Cross-country Skiing and Biathlon.[1] He is only the seventh athlete from any country to have competed at six Winter Games[2] and is one of fewer than fifty athletes to have competed in at least six Olympic Games.

He is one of only three athletes to compete in two different sports at six different Olympics, the others being Seiko Hashimoto of Japan (speed skating, cycling) and Gerda Weissensteiner of Italy (luge, bobsleigh).

Career

At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, he competed as a cross-country skier, coming 60th in the 15 km[3] and 14th in the 4x10km relay. Shortly afterwards, he switched to the Biathlon for the rest of his career, competing in his first event at the Biathlon World Championships in 1987 at Lake Placid.[4]

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, he came 21st in the 10 km sprint, 13th in the 20 km, and 13th in the 4 x 7.5 km relay.

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he came 60th in the 10 km sprint, 12th in the 20 km, and 18th in the 4 x 7.5 km relay. In the 20km race, he was one of only three competitors (including gold medallist Yevgeniy Redkin) not to miss any targets.[5]

At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, illness forced him into 54th place in the 20 km. His team came 17th in the 4 x 7.5 km relay. He was Britain's flag bearer at these Games, as he would be for the 1998 and 2002 Games as well.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, he came 47th in the 10 km sprint and 33rd in the 20 km.

At his final Olympics, the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, he came 74th in the 10 km sprint, 79th in the 20 km, and 19th in the 4 x 7.5 km relay.[6] He was given a surprise party at Soldier Hollow in honour of his sixth appearance by his teammates and the international biathlon community.[7]

After retiring, he has been working as a commentator for Eurosport.[8]

He led his team to victory in the BBC reality show Hercules Challenge in 2005.[9]

Personal life

He is affiliated with the 35 Engineer Regiment, Hameln and the Lochaber Athletic Club.[6] He speaks English and German and enjoys photography, canoeing and mountain-marathons.[10] He is married with two children and works with junior roller skiers and biathletes in Kingussie, Scotland.[11] His son Scott is also a biathlete and is aiming to be selected for the 2018 Winter Olympics.[12] He also works as a motivational speaker and fitness instructor.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Team GB - Official home of the British Olympic Association - London 2012 | Team GB". Olympics.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  2. ↑ "Great Britain's Winter Olympics Hall of Fame - 21-25". More than the games. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  3. ↑ "Cross Country Skiing at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games: Men's 15 kilometres | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 1984-02-13. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Biathlon at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games: Men's 20 kilometres | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 1992-02-20. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mike Dixon Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 1962-11-21. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  7. ↑ "British biathlete honoured". BBC News. 17 February 2002.
  8. ↑ Gillon, Doug (24 February 2010). "Mike Dixon still has sights set on Olympic Games – at 47". Glasgow: The Herald. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "Domain name registration | Domain names | Web Hosting | 123-reg". Herculeschallenge.com. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  10. ↑ "DIXON Michael personal data, photos". Biathlon.com.ua. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  11. ↑ "Kingussie High School - Summer Newsletter". kingussiehigh.highland.sch.uk. June 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  12. ↑ "Biathlon - Dixon doing all he can to succeed as a biathlete". Yahoo! Sports. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.