Mac Marcoux

Last updated

Mac Marcoux
Mac Marcoux.JPG
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 (age 26)
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight70.3 kg (155 lb)
Other interestsFishing, four-wheeling
Sport
CountryCanada
Sport Para-alpine skiing
Turned pro2013
Medal record
Men's para alpine skiing
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Winter Paralympics
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Sochi Giant Slalom, visually impaired
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 Pyeongchang Downhill, visually impaired
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Beijing Downhill, visually impaired
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Sochi Downhill, visually impaired
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Sochi Super-G, visually impaired
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Pyeongchang Giant Slalom, visually impaired
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Panorama Downhill, visually impaired
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Tarvisio Downhill, visually impaired
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Tarvisio Giant Slalom, visually impaired
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Tarvisio Slalom, visually impaired
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Tarvisio Super-G, visually impaired
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2013 La Molina Giant slalom, visually impaired
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Panorama Super-G, visually impaired
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 Tarvisio Super Combined, visually impaired
Updated on 7 August 2014.

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.

Contents

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. Home of Marcoux Brothers 3.jpg
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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Para-alpine skiing</span> Skiing for people with disabilities

Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee Sports Committee. The primary equipment used includes outrigger skis, sit-skis, and mono-skis. Para-alpine skiing disciplines include the Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom, Slalom, Super Combined and Snowboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Paralympics</span>

Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Paralympics consisted of 53 events, 34 for men and 19 for women which all took place at the Snowbasin Ski Area.

LW12 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). An LW12 skier needs to meet a minimum of one of several conditions including a single below knee but above ankle amputation, monoplegia that exhibits similar to below knee amputation, legs of different length where there is at least a 7 centimetres difference, combined muscle strength in the lower extremities less than 71. For international competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. For sub-international competitions, classification is done by a national federation such as Alpine Canada. For para-Alpine, this class is subdivided into two subclasses.: LW12.1 and LW12.2. A new sit-skier competitor with only national classification will compete as LW12.2 in international competitions until they have been internationally classified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LW11</span>

LW11 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC for people with paralysis in the lower extremities and people with cerebral palsy that affects the lower half of the body. Outside of skiing, the competitor in this class is unable to walk. For international competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. For sub-international competitions, classification is done by a national federation such as Alpine Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LW10</span> Sit-skiing classification for disabled skiers

LW10 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic sit-skiing classification for skiers who cannot sit up without support. For international skiing competitions, classification is conducted by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing, while national federations such as Alpine Canada handle classification for domestic competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LW2 (classification)</span>

LW2 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing ski sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Competitors in this class have severe disability in a lower limb, which may be a result of an amputation, or arthrodesis in the leg and hip. Depending on the type of skiing, the international classification process for LW2 skiers is handled by the IPC Alpine Skiing Technical Committee and IPC Nordic Skiing Technical Committee. National sport federations handle classification on the lower levels.

LW3 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for skiers with a disability affecting both legs, with double below knee amputation or a combined strength total for both legs of 60, with 80 as the baseline for people without disabilities. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. The classification has two subclasses for para-Alpine skiing: LW3.1 which is for people with double below the knee amputations or similar disabilities, and LW3.2 which is for people with cerebral palsy that involves moderate athetoid, moderate ataxic impairment or slight diplegic involvement.

LW5/7 is a standing para-Alpine and para-Nordic skiing classification for skiers with upper extremity issues in both limbs that may include double amputation of both arms and hands or dysmelia of the upper limbs. The class has three subclasses defined by the location of the disability on the upper extremities. International classification is done by IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing. On the national level, classification is handled by national sports federation such as Cross-Country Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LW6/8</span> Skiing sport class

LW6/8 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for people with an upper extremity issue who have paralysis, motor paresis affecting one arm, a single upper arm amputation or CP8 classified cerebral palsy. LW6/8 skiers use two skis and one pole in both para-Alpine and para-Nordic skiing.

LW9 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for people with upper and lower limb function problems, and includes cerebral palsy skiers classified CP5, CP6 and CP7, along with people with hemiplegia or amputations. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. A national federation such as Alpine Canada handles classification for domestic competitions. This classification is separated into two subclasses including LW9.1 and LW9.2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Perrine</span> Australian para-alpine skier

Melissa Perrine is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Bor</span> Australian former ski coach and sighted guide

Andy Bor is an Australian former ski coach and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. He was a coach at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino, and was Melissa Perrine's guide skier at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver and 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Geiger</span> Australian alpine skier

Christian Geiger is an Australian Alpine skier, Paralympic alpine ski coach and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. He was Jessica Gallagher's guide skier at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, winning a bronze medal. He represented Australia at the 2008 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships and the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, but his career was cut short when he was severely injured in a traffic collision in 2009. He became Jessica Gallagher's sighted guide in 2013, and guided her to silver medals in women's slalom and giant slalom at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Thredbo. Geiger was Melissa Perrine's guide and coach at the 2018 Winter Paralympics where she won two bronze medals.

Millicent Genevieve Knight is a British skier and student who competes at international level for ParalympicsGB in alpine skiing in the slalom, giant slalom Super-G, Super combined and Downhill events with a sighted guide, Brett Wild. When Knight was one year old, she contracted an illness, diagnosed at age three, which resulted in the loss of most of her vision by the age of six. She joined the Great Britain Paralympic skiing team in 2012, and progressed to compete at international-level events. Knight was the British flagbearer at Sochi in 2014 – her debut Paralympics - where, at the age of 15, she was the youngest person ever to compete for ParalympicsGB at the Winter Games. In the same year Knight also became an Honorary Doctor of the University of Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Femy</span> Canadian para-alpine skier

Robin Femy is a skier and sighted guide from Canada. He currently serves as Mac Marcoux's guide. The pair won three medals in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, including gold in the men's visually impaired giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships</span>

The 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships was an international disability sport alpine skiing event held in Panorama Mountain Village, British Columbia, Canada from March 2 to 10, 2015. The Championship is held biannually by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is the largest event of its type outside the Winter Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships</span>

The 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships was an international disability sport alpine skiing event held in La Molina ski resort in Spain from 18 to 27 February 2013. The Championship is held biannually by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is the largest event of its type outside the Winter Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Jensen</span> Australia para-alpine skier

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Natasha de Troyer is a visually impaired Belgian alpine skier. She represented Belgium in Paralympic Alpine skiing at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, and the World Championships, where she won one silver and two bronze medals.

References

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  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. 1 2 3 "Mac Marcoux Canadian Paralympic Committee". paralympic.ca. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
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  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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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.
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