AURORA — Growing up in Jamaica, Milton Hart wanted nothing more than to run, but he was smaller and skinnier than the runners and felt he just couldn’t measure up.
“But in my head, I always thought I was amazing,” says Hart, who, along with Marcel Gery, Sandy Townsend and Grace Wong was inducted into the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame in the fall.
But he wasn’t discouraged. He just became more determined and pushed himself harder.
His desire to be active led him to the army, which he felt was a logical fit. After joining the Jamaican military, Hart’s perseverance began to pay off. By 2003, he had made the move to Canada, and his journey in the military continued for another eight years.
During his military service in Hart’s athleticism began to truly emerge and he gained success as a short sprinter. In 1989, he earned a spot on the team for the Jamaican bobsleigh trials, held at the military base in Kingston. This would be a turning point that would change his life forever.
The story of Jamaica’s debut in bobsled competing in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary with its first team was immortalized in the film Cool Runnings. Hart may have been a character if a subsequent film was made about the next Jamaican Olympic bobsled team that competed in 1992.
"The following week, I was in Innsbruck, Austria. It was -30°C, and I’d never seen snow before. I thought it was amazing — like gold,” he recalls.
Despite catching pneumonia in the process, Hart was having the experience of a lifetime sliding down the bobsled track at over 100 km/h with no seatbelt.
"You don’t really understand the gravity of it when you’re in your 20s. You’re just winging it, having fun," he says. "But looking back, I realize just how incredible it was.
"You want to do it again, to correct your mistakes," he adds. "And when you're at the opening ceremony, it’s just ... all these things are coming at you. You don’t have time to admire your work."
After moving to Canada, he continued to compete and eventually became the Ontario Sprint Champion in 1996. And his determination continues. He is set to compete in the 50-metre sprint at the Ontario Masters Track and Field Championships at York University, in the 54+ age category this month.
One key to his ongoing success, he believes, is strength training.
"Resistance training protects the joints. It’s about stretching, doing leg extensions, calf raises — building muscles that protect your knees," he explains.
But Hart is much more than an athlete. He has become a leading voice in his community, finding Aurora welcoming and full of opportunity.
“For me, it was just trying to find a town where I could grow,” he says. "I’ve found that in Aurora. I live in a wonderful community surrounded by incredible people."
In an effort to dispel stereotypes, his personal mission is to challenge these assumptions and create an inclusive space for everyone.
He founded the Aurora Black Caucus, an initiative designed to dispel myths about Black men and build a supportive network. "We want to work with everyone in Aurora, regardless of race, to build a stronger, more inclusive community," he explains.
Looking back of his greatest lessons came from not making his high school track and field team.
“I was supposed to work twice as hard as everyone else,” he says. "When I coach, I don’t make cuts. If you have the work ethic, you’re welcome to my practices. I’ll coach you."
Looking back at his bobsled career, he adds, “We finished 25th out of 40, and we only had ice in our drinks. For us to do that well in a winter sport — it’s amazing.”
Being named to the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame, he says, is one of the most rewarding moments of his life.
