Mike Dixon (biathlete)

For other people named Michael Dixon, see Michael Dixon (disambiguation).

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 at 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).

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]

He is affiliated with the 35th Engineer Regiment Hameln and the Lochaber Athletic Club.^[10] He speaks English and German and enjoys photography, canoeing and mountain-marathons.^[11] He is married with two children and works with junior roller skiers and biathletes in Kingussie, Scotland.^[12] He also works as a motivational speaker and fitness instructor.

See also

• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

References

1. ^ http://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=1092
2. ^ http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/winter-sports/081421-great-britains-winter-olympics-hall-fame-21-25
3. ^ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1984/CCS/mens-15-kilometres.html
4. ^ http://biathlonworld.siwidata.info/data/archives.aspx?IbuId=BTGBR12111196201
5. ^ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1992/BIA/mens-20-kilometres.html
6. ^ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/mike-dixon-1.html
7. ^ "British biathlete honoured". BBC News. 17 February 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/hi/english/features/anna_thompson/newsid_1825000/1825576.stm. 
8. ^ Gillon, Doug (24 February 2010). "Mike Dixon still has sights set on Olympic Games – at 47". Glasgow: The Herald. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other-sports-news/mike-dixon-still-has-sights-set-on-olympic-games-at-47-1.1009419. Retrieved 25 February 2011. 
9. ^ http://www.herculeschallenge.com/
10. ^ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/mike-dixon-1.html
11. ^ http://biathlon.com.ua/profile.php?lang=eng&id=2051
12. ^ http://www.kingussiehigh.highland.sch.uk/Office/Summer%20Newsletter.pdf

Persondata
Name	Dixon, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	21 November 1962
Place of birth	Fort William, Scotland, United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death