Mac Marcoux claims 2nd Paralympic bronze despite radio failure

A second bronze medal at the Sochi Paralympics on Sunday was extra special for Sault Ste Marie's Mac Marcoux.

The 16-year-old para-alpine skier completed the whole course without the usual help of radio contact with his guide Robin Femy.

Marcoux skis in the visually impaired category of the Paralympics. He said the radio system in their helmets quit in the starting gate of race — but he never considered pulling out of the competition.

"Not even a little bit," he told CBC News with chuckle.

"It was the biggest event so far of my career, so I wasn't planning on not skiing, even if our radios were not working. I just follow behind and hope and a pray [I] make it down."

Femy says para-alpine skiers do practice with no radios to prepare for this kind of situation. As the pair skied, he tried to communicate key information about the course in a low tech fashion.

"I tried to yell as loud I could, but I guess that wasn't enough with the wind," Femy said. "I guess we were going a bit too fast. He couldn't hear me."

Despite the extra challenges, Marcoux and Femy took the bronze, just a few tenths of a second off the winning time.

Marcoux and Femy race again on Tuesday in the Super-Combined event at the Paralympics in Sochi.