Mac Marcoux

Macmilton "Mac" Marcoux (born 20 June 1997) is a Canadian Paralympic alpine skier who won three titles at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 15. With guide Robin Femy, he won three medals in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, including gold in the men's visually impaired giant slalom. He also has numerous awards including being inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He also enjoys riding BMX and mountain bikes.

Mac Marcoux
Marcoux in the 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships at La Molina in Spain.
Personal information
Full nameMacmilton Marcoux
Born (1997-06-20) 20 June 1997
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight70.3 kg (155 lb)
Other interestsFishing, four-wheeling
Sport
CountryCanada
SportPara-alpine skiing
Turned pro2013
Medal record
Men's para alpine skiing
Representing  Canada
Winter Paralympics
2014 SochiGiant Slalom, visually impaired
2018 PyeongchangDownhill, visually impaired
2014 SochiDownhill, visually impaired
2014 SochiSuper-G, visually impaired
2018 PyeongchangGiant Slalom, visually impaired
World Championships
2015 PanoramaDownhill, visually impaired
2017 TarvisioDownhill, visually impaired
2017 TarvisioGiant Slalom, visually impaired
2017 TarvisioSlalom, visually impaired
2017 TarvisioSuper-G, visually impaired
2013 La MolinaGiant slalom, visually impaired
2015 PanoramaSuper-G, visually impaired
2017 TarvisioSuper Combined, visually impaired
Updated on 7 August 2014.

Personal life

Mac Marcoux was born on 20 June 1997 in Haviland Bay, Ontario. He resides there with his parents and two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister. He started skiing at the age of four. He also rode BMX bikes and raced go-karts. In 2006, he started losing his sight due to Stargardt disease,[1][2] a degenerative condition, and became legally blind in 2007. He said: "We've always been a racing family from the beginning. It's how I've grown up. Going fast was just a part of it. The faster you go the more fun it is".[3]

After Marcoux had lost his vision, his brother Billy Joe (B.J.) Marcoux decided to put his college education on hold in order to assist him with skiing.[4] Alpine Canada introduced them to a new kind of skiing called Para-Alpine. They were inspired by the McKeever brothers to do visually impaired para-alpine. Other than the Paralympics, his brother B.J. has been his sighted guide using radio communication ever since then; something they had never used before.[5][6]

Para-Alpine career

Marcoux is classified as a B3 (visually impaired) athlete.[2] At the age of 15, he competed at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Mount Hutt, New Zealand, with B.J. as his guide, winning three medals. Later that year he won a silver medal in the Giant Slalom at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in La Molina, Spain, and became the national Slalom and Giant Slalom champion at Sun Peaks, British Columbia.[6]

2014 Winter Paralympics
The flower bed in Sault Ste. Marie honouring the Marcoux brothers.

The following year he competed in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi as the youngest member of the Canadian Paralympic Team at the age of 16.[7] With Robin Femy as his guide. He won bronze in both the Downhill and the Super-G, as well as a gold in the Giant Slalom by over two seconds.[8][9][10] "It is the best moment of my life", he said after winning gold. "I can't even explain how amazing this is."[10]

Mac and his brother B.J. were inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame on 19 September 2014.[11]

Post-Sochi

At the 2017 World Championships he won gold in the downhill,[12] giant slalom,[13] slalom,[14] and super-G.[15] He also won silver in the super combined.[16]

Other interests

He raced BMX bikes and go-karts with his brother B.J. before he was blind. After he lost his sight, he fished and also rode mountain bikes at Whistler with a guide using the same kind of radio communication system.[6]

Awards

Marcoux and his brother BJ was presented the H.P. Broughton Trophy and was named into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame. In October 2014, the brothers were also inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Sports Hall of Fame by mayor Debbie Amaroso.[17][11]

See also

References
  1. Justin A. Rice. "Canada's Marcoux brothers turning into teenage sensations". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  2. "Mac Marcoux". Alpine Ontario Para Racing Team. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  3. Mike, Merdone (29 January 2013). "Marcoux overcomes the odds". Sault Star. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  4. Gary Kingston (4 March 2014). "Brother B.J. a big part of Mac Marcoux’s journey". Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  5. Coccimiglio, Brad (27 February 2014). "Marcoux brothers set for Paralympic games". Sootoday. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  6. "Mac Marcoux – Canadian Paralympic Committee". paralympic.ca. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  7. "Sweet 16! Canada’s Mac Marcoux wins bronze in Paralympic downhill in Sochi". canada.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  8. "Marcoux". Alpine Canada. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  9. "Gold-medal greeting (See photo gallery)". Sault Star. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  10. "Mac Marcoux wins gold in Paralympic giant slalom – Paralympics News – CBC". CBC. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  11. Armstrong, Kenneth (19 September 2014). "Two famous guys spotted hanging out downtown (10 photos)". SooToday.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  12. "Men's downhill visually impaired" (PDF). 25 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  13. "Men's giant slalom visually impaired" (PDF). 30 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  14. "Men's slalom visually impaired" (PDF). 31 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  15. "Men's super-G visually impaired" (PDF). 26 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. "Men's super combined visually impaired" (PDF). 28 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. Mike Verdone (21 October 2014). "Marcoux brothers enter sports hall of fame". Sault Star. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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