Eric Milazar

Eric Milazar

Personal information
Nationality	Mauritian
Born	(1975-06-01) 1 June 1975 (age 49) Rodrigues
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	200 metres, 400 metres
Medal record Representing  Mauritius Men's Athletics IAAF World Cup in Athletics 2002 Madrid 4 x 400 metres relay IAAF World Athletics Final 2003 Monaco 400 m IAAF Golden League 2003 Berlin 400 m African Championships in Athletics 2000 Algiers 400 m 2002 Tunis 400 m 2004 Brazzaville 400 m Jeux de la Francophonie 2009 Beirut 400 m 2001 Ottawa 400 m 1997 Antananarivo 400 m Championnats de France 1998 Dijon 400 m 2003 Dijon 400 m Jeux des îles 1998 St Denis 400 m 2003 Reduit 400 m 2007 Antananarivo 400 m 2003 Reduit 200 m 2007 Antananarivo 200 m Mauritius Athletics Championships 1995 Reduit 400 m 1995 Reduit 200 m 1996 Reduit 400 m 1997 Reduit 400 m 1997 Reduit 200 m 2002 Reduit 400 m

Jean Éric Milazar (born June 1, 1975) is a Mauritian athlete competing in the 200 metres and 400 metres. He was born in Rodrigues and currently resides in Coromandel, Mauritius. He is married to Natacha Ramen-Milazar since 2006 an ex volleyball player and together they have two kids Ericson and Erica.

He is the national record holder in the 400m (44.69), the 300m (32.57), the 200m indoor (21.24) and the 400m indoor (46.28). He also co-holds the Mauritian records in the 4 × 100 m relay (38.99) and the 4 × 400 m relay (3:06:21). Milazar also competes in the 200 metres and is the second fastest 200 metres sprinter in Mauritius with a time of 20.66 behind Stephan Buckland's 20.06. Milazar is one of the best sportsman in Mauritius and he has represented his country in numerous international athletics events such as the Olympic Games^[1] and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Milazar is one of the best 400m sprinters in Africa since he has won three consecutive African champion titles at the African Championships in 2000, 2002, 2004 and is the first African athlete in history to achieve that. He eventually reached the final in the 400m at the World Championships, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada finishing fourth in a time of 45.13. Two years later, at the Paris World Championships, Milazar again reached the final finishing seventh in 45.17. However, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) promoted him to fifth place after the disqualification of Americans Jerome Young and Calvin Harrison due to doping offences. As such, Milazar won his semifinal race in a time of 44.75, the second best time of the semifinals behind Tyree Washington's 44.60.

After his return from the Paris World Championships, Milazar produced an impressive winning streak at the Indian Ocean Island Games in Mauritius. He won three gold medals and one silver. He finished first in the 400 metres smashing the Games' record clocking 45.78. He also won the 4 × 100 m and the 4 × 400 m relay. He finished second in the 200 metres behind Stephan Buckland. His time was 21.07 seconds.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Eric Milazar got the Chikungunya disease which was a very serious pandemic in Mauritius. As a result, he became physically weak and his performances in the 400m were quite poor. He struggled at the 2006 African Championships and in the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia. The following year was also a big struggle as he only finished fourth in the 400m heats at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka. But, these failures only encouraged him to train harder and gain his confidence back to start setting the track on fire again. This poor performance was overcome at the Indian Ocean Island Games held in Madagascar where Milazar won three gold medals in the 400m, 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relay. He also won a silver medal in the 200 metres at these Games.^{[citation needed]}

With strong wits and determination, Milazar bounced back at the Abuja CAA Super Grand Prix finishing third in 45.90 in 2008. He also achieved the standards needed to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games but, did not pass the first round of the 400 metres.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, the Mauritian sprinter won a gold medal in the 400 metres at the Francophone Games held in Beirut, Lebanon. He achieved a time of 46.00 which was also his season's best. Moreover, he won a silver medal in the 4x100 relay and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. As the captain of the Mauritian team, he demonstrated great sportsmanship during this international event which earned him the "Sportsman of the Year" award and a cash prize reward.^{[citation needed]}

• Eric Milazar at World Athletics
• Eric Milazar at Olympedia
• Eric Milazar at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Eric Milazar at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Eric Milazar at World Athletics