Victor Milligan
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Northern Irish) |
| Born | 11 November 1929[1] Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 4 March 2009 Mali, Africa |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Middle-distance |
| Club | Instonians |
Victor Milligan (11 November 1929 – 4 March 2009) was an athlete from Northern Ireland, who represented Northern Ireland at the British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games).
Biography
Milligan broke the Ulster schools record in 1946[1] and was head boy at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.[2] He was awarded a scholarship to study civil engineering at Queen's University Belfast.[1]
In 1950 he won the gold medal in the Northern Ireland 880-yards race but in 1950 missed the 1952 Summer Olympics through injury. In 1953 he improved his own Northern Ireland mile record to 4 minutes 12.5 seconds and in June 1954 broke the Northern Ireland half-mile record, setting a time of 4 minutes 8.6 seconds.[1] After Queens, he was a member of the Instonians Club of Belfast.[3]
He represented the 1954 Northern Irish Team[4] at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada,[5] participating in the 880 yards and 1 mile events.[6]
His participation in the The Miracle Mile, where he finished fourth made him a household name in the Northern Ireland.[1] After the games he was given a civic reception by the Lord and Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Belfast City Hall.[7]
In September 1956 he emigrated to Canada, working for Imperial Chemical Industries and then Geocon Ltd before helping set up an engineering consultancy company called Golder Associates.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Milligan, Victor". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "RBAI School Fair". Belfast News-Letter. 10 November 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 13 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "A meeting to attract the stars". Ireland's Saturday Night. 12 June 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 13 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Vancouver 1954". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Off-to battle for Ulster in Vancouver". Belfast Telegraph. 19 July 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 13 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Athletics 1 Mile - Men Vancouver 1954". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Ulster Athletes Entertained". Belfast News-Letter. 4 September 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 13 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.