Background
Toby Kane was born in Sydney on 30 December 1986, the oldest son of Sally and Steve Kane.
Toby Kane was born in Sydney on 30 December 1986, the oldest son of Sally and Steve Kane.
He has a bachelor of medical science degree, and studied for a double degree in medicine and surgery at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney.
He had the honour being Australia"s flag bearer at the closing ceremony in Torino, and at the opening ceremony in Vancouver. He has an older brother Tim. At the age of two, he lost his lower right leg after being run over by a car on the footpath.
Kane"s talent was identified whilst skiing at Smiggin Holes, New South Wales, and he was invited to join the Australian Winter Paralympic Development team when he was 11.
At 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Kane competed in five men"s events – downhill, coming tenth, giant slalom placing tenth, slalom, coming eleventh, and super Combined and super G, in which he did not finish. He had the honour being Australia"s flag bearer at two Winter Paralympic Games – carrying the flag at the closing ceremony of the in Torino, and at the opening ceremony in Vancouver.
He followed up with bronze in the giant slalom in the World Cup series. Kane was an Australian Institute of Sport and New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder from 2002 to 2014.
Kane competed in five events at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, winning a bronze medal third in the men"s super G behind Russia"s Alexey Bugaev and Austria"s Matthias Lanzinger.
lieutenant was Australia"s first medal at the Sochi Games. On winning his bronze medal, he announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the Games, ending his career on a high note. He went on to finish fourth in the men"s slalom standing and sixth in the men"s downhill standing, and failed to finish in two events.
Kane announced his retirement following the 2014 Paralympics, with the intent to purse a career in medicine.
Towards the end of the Sochi Games, Kane and Dutch snowboarder Bibian Mentel-Spee were named winners of the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, which is presented at every Paralympic Games for outstanding performances and overcoming adversity. Classified as LW2, he won a bronze medal in the men"s super G. He also competed in the downhill, coming 9th. Slalom, coming 16th; and the giant slalom, in which he did not finish. Kane won a bronze medal in the men"s super G LW2 at the 2004 IPC Alpine World Championships in Wildschönau, Austria. After a break from sport, he returned to the slopes at the 2011 IPC Alpine World Championships in Sestriere, Italy, where he won a bronze medal in the slalom after posting a string of frustrating fourth places in the downhill, super G and super combined. During the 2011-2012 IPC Alpine World Cup season, he won another bronze in the giant slalom, and during the 2012-2013 season, won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal at the 2012 North America Cup. In 2011, he received a Sport Achievement Award from the Australian Institute of Sport. Towards the end of the Games, Kane and Dutch snowboarder Bibian Mentel-Spee were named winners of the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, which is presented at every Paralympic Games for outstanding performances and overcoming adversity.
Invited to join the Australian Winter Paralympic Development team when he was just 11, he became the youngest member of the Australian team in Torino at the age of 19. At the age of 19, Kane was the youngest member of the Australian team at 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino.
