Mac Hickox has the unique distinction of being the only canoeist to have worn the colours of both Canada and the United States in Olympic competition. First, he was named as an alternate to the Canadian Olympic canoe team for the 1964 Games in Tokyo then was chosen to represent the U.S. in two-man (C-2) canoeing in Mexico City four years later. He completed his Olympic cycle as head coach of the Canadian paddling team in Montreal in 1976.

     Although Mac’s main claim to fame is conoeing, he also left his mark on two other sports: hockey and cross-country skiing. He also became an integral part of Mississauga’s sports community through his efforts with the city’s sports Celebrities Dinner (he chaired the event in 1991), work on the Mississauga Canoe Club’s (Missy, as the club is nicknamed) expansion which resulted in a paddle pool and weight room. He was also involved in efforts to build a sports complex for the city. For his achievement and involvement, Mac was inducted into the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame for 1983.

     The Hickox family moved to Mississauga from Boston when Mac was only four months old and he burst onto the Mississauga sports scene like a young comet as a student at Port Credit Secondary School. For a while, it was a toss-up as to which sport Mac would make his lasting mark. He played left-wing for several hockey teams - Junior B with the Dixie Beehives, Junior A with the St. Catharines Black Hawks and Hamilton Red Wings. At the university level, he first played with McMaster then with the University of Toronto where he helped the Varsity Blues to capture the Canadian Collegiate hockey title in 1971.

     Mac won a Canadian Canoe championship in Juvenile C-2 in 1962 at15 with partner Dean Oldershaw. It was Mississauga’s first-ever gold medal. For Mac personally, this was the first gold medal in a spectacular career that saw him capture a total of 25 Canadian and two North American championships.

     Mac’s post-competitive successes proved to be even more spectacular. As head coach, he guided Mississauga to six national championship burgees. In the ‘76 Olympic Games in Montreal, he coached John Wood to a silver medal, Canada’s first Olympic medal in canoeing in 24 long years. He was named Canada’s Coach of the Year for this feat in particular and and Canada’s best showing to that date in Olympic paddling.