Biography
Winning a Paralympic gold medal, receiving an MBE and being awarded Para Athlete of the Year Award – to most of us accomplishing just one of these achievements in our lifetime would be amazing, however Owen Miller from Dunfermline has achieved all three plus more besides!
Owen is a remarkable young man who became a Paralympic athlete after being noticed by his PE teacher at his school’s sport day at Woodmill High School where he outran the best in the school. He joined Dunfermline and West Fife Running Club and then Fife Athletic Club (Fife AC) – since then there has been no stopping him.
Being autistic has helped Owen to focus his abilities and develop a strict routine of training and exercise, he never misses a day’s training on the track and his hard work and natural ability have definitely paid off.
After leaving school Owen spent three years at Fife College and attended the Dunfermline Campus where he learnt life skills and a love of hospitality, skills which have helped him in his journey to success.
Owen made his debut for Britain at the 2019 World Championships following a very successful year that saw him set a new personal best of 3:56.32 and become the second on the all-time British T20 1500m list, for athletes who compete with learning or intellectual impairments.
He then went on to achieve one of the proudest moments off his life winning Paralympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 with the fastest time of 3:54:57. On his Paralympic debut he blew away the field in the T20 1500m final with a stunning performance.
This success led him on to be recognised via the Queen’s Honours List in 2021. Owen attended Holyrood Palace with his very proud family, including his gran who is his number one fan, and received the Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal from Princess Anne in July 2022.
Having autism has had its challenges for Owen and he is keen to fly the flag for inclusion. He is a member of Disability Sport Fife and frequently attends events to promote awareness of the rights of people who have supported learning needs.
Just like other famous athletes, such as Usain Bolt and Mo Farah, Owen has his very own pose a ‘two thumbs up’ which sums up Owen’s positivity on life perfectly. Owen’s advice to the students of today is: “Believe in yourself, help others when they are struggling and don’t leave anyone out!”
We can’t wait to see what Owen achieves next – he is a fantastic role model for all at Fife College and beyond, and is a very worthy member of our Hall of Fame.