Gordon "Gord" MacKinnon (born 27 August 1958,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

) is a former

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...

flanker.

Career

MacKinnon played for the Pocomo Rugby Club of

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

when he won his first cap for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

against the

United States national rugby union team The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Stat ...

in 1985. During that same year he was a member of the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

side that upset

. A knee injury and subsequent surgery forced him out of the 1987 World Cup but he was back as a Canadian flanker against the Eagles in 1988 and went on to confirm his reputation as an outstanding athlete, fast and very strong. MacKinnon played in both 1990 World Cup Americas Zone wins over Argentina. Three appearances at

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens () is an rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the s ...

and a member of the Canadian team at the 100th Gala Sevens in 1991. He went on to establish himself as one of the world's best flankers, scoring against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and setting up tries against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the 1991

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

as Canada reached the quarter-finals. MacKinnon represented Ex-Britannia Lions amateur

Vancouver Rugby Union The Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU) is the administrative body for rugby union in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The VRU currently consists of 11 local rugby clubs and Seattle. Members External links BCRU Home PageVRU Homepage
Sport in Van ...

side. Rugby World and Post (as it was known at the time) chose MacKinnon, along with other Canadians "Stormmin"

Norm Hadley Norman Hadley (2 December 1964 – 26 March 2016) was a Canadian rugby union player. "Stormin' Norman" was a massive , lock. He played professionally first for London Wasps and then Bedford Blues in the 1990s. In Canada he played for James Bay ...

(lock) and Dan Jackhart (prop), as a member of the World XV. Selected for the World XV squad for the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

' 1992 Centenary he played in two of the three Tests. MacKinnon made his fourth appearance at the 1992

, where he scored six tries and later played on the winning side for the June 1992 Ca-Am in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. On that occasion he and wing Scott MacKinnon became the first two brothers to appear on the same team for

. Gord played against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

and was the only player to start in all 18 games at the 1993

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...

events, leading the way with eight tries in all. That year his 15-a-side contribution was limited by a slow-to-heal foot fracture and his only Test appearance was against

Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...

, when he scored a memorable try. He resumed for the 1994

and played against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, earning his 17th cap. Gord received his 28th and final cap on 3 June 1995 against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

. As of last year, another prestigious title was added to MacKinnons sporting record, when he placed first the Masters (50-54) division of the Reebok CrossFit Games. Over his international career he has scored four tries (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

1991,

1993 and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

1995). In 2011 Gord qualified to participate in the

2011 CrossFit Games The 2011 CrossFit Games were a sporting event, the fifth CrossFit Games, held on July 29–31, 2011, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The winners of the Games were Rich Froning for the men's competition and Annie Thorisdottir for th ...

in California. he won th
Masters 50-54
division. In July 2012, MacKinnon successfully defended his title at the CrossFit Games, cementing a 2-year winning streak in the masters (50–54) division. He qualified in the subsequent years, but withdrew due to injuries before the Games in from 2013 to 2016. He returned to the CrossFit Games in 2019 and took second in the 60+ masters division, but was later awarded first place via the original winner's failed drug test.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinnon, Gord 1958 births Living people Canadian rugby union players Rugby union flankers Sportspeople from British Columbia Rugby union players from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to Canada Canada international rugby union players Canada international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players CrossFit athletes

Career

See also

References

External links