Lauren Redwood has quickly carved a name for herself as a champion-caliber wheelchair racer, yet her journey was one that was far from easy.
Redwood, who grew up in Brantford, was an avid athlete competing in multiple sports including cross country, flag football, soccer, and swimming. However, on December the 29, 2017, Redwood’s life would change forever.
“It was winter break, and I was going sledding with my brother and a friend. During the last run, me and my friend fell off the sled and rolled down the hill. When I was at the bottom of the hill, I realized I couldn’t feel or move my legs. I found out that had…I had a spinal cord injury. The ER doctor [reviewed the x-rays] and looked at my mom, and told her that I would never walk again,” said Redwood.
But with sheer determination, Redwood would prove the doctor wrong.
“It took me a whole year to learn how to walk again…I have used crutches and AFOs (Ankle-foot orthoses) since my feet are still paralyzed…I’m still trying to heal from it. It’s a lot to process, especially living for 15 years of my life as an able-bodied person,” described Redwood. “I was athletic so to lose that part of me was hard…I also lost some friends and others in my life right after the accident, they walked out on me. So, there were a lot of wounds to be healed, and they’re still being healed.”
However, Redwood would then discover wheelchair racing during her senior year at Brantford Collegiate Institute, rekindling her competitive spirit.
“I came up to a teacher, Emma Dailey [as] she was heading the track club. I wanted to do something and be a part of something again in sports before I graduated…she was the one who did the research and found Cruiser Sports, which is a sports club based in Brampton/Mississauga, and they do everything from wheelchair basketball to para-ice hockey to wheelchair racing,” Redwood explained. “Miss Dailey took me to an event which was open to anyone to try [wheelchair racing] and it was so much fun. Isaiah Christophe, who’s a prominent athlete in the sport, took me around the track and showed me the ropes. After that, Miss Dailey and I did our best to learn the sport on our own…on the little track behind BCI. But then the pandemic hit, so the journey was cut short.”
By 2021, with restrictions loosening, Redwood was encouraged to try wheelchair racing again.
“Lisa Myers, who is the director of para-athletics for Cruiser Sports, convinced me to get back in the chair by going to a session [and] going around the track a few times with the athletes. So, I went around with Nandini Sharma, [and] Austin Smeenk who are both on Team Canada [and] Isaiah Christophe…and it was so much fun, “Redwood said. “Afterwards my parents told me they said that they hadn’t seen me that happy in years…I just felt so much joy being around those people in my community, because it was isolating being the ‘crutches girl’ at school. So, the exhilaration of wheelchair racing was similar to the feeling I had when I used to run…and I had missed that feeling.”
Myers, who would eventually become Redwood’s coach, was adamant that she should join the Cruiser team.
“The only problem was that I didn’t have a car and the track club and cruisers trained in Mississauga [and] I live in Brantford. But at the time, I was doing my honors bachelor in creative writing and publishing at Sheridan College [and I found out that] the cruisers had a partnership with the college where we could be part of their strength and conditioning program,” noted Redwood.
Redwood would go on to train there at the gym for a year before starting to race competitively.
“It’s been an amazing experience. I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself as a person and as an athlete. This sport has challenged me in ways that no other sport has. It’s really technical and really physical,” explained Redwood. “You’re ‘punching’ the wheels [and] your body will get bruised and a little bloody…so, you have to build up a lot of strength for. But I’m really lucky to have amazing coaches and teammates who’ve supported and helped me.”
After a lot of training, Redwood was ready for some competitions in 2023. However, 2024 was her breakout year, despite overcoming burnout and injuries.
“I had three to four weeks before Nationals to get my body ready again [after] injuries when I overtrained [and] burnout trying to juggle school and training. I was trying to get my endurance and speed back up in time for nationals, and I thankfully did. Nationals were in Montreal this year, [and] since it’s an Olympic year, it ended up being the Paralympic and Olympic trials, which was daunting, but also exciting,” said Redwood. “It was my first time getting to meet all of the other wheelchair race [competitors] from Canada, and they were all so welcoming…and getting to race with all of the wheelies on the track [and] I was warming up in a lane beside Andre De Grasse at one point. So, it was very exciting to see so many Olympians there.”
During Nationals, Redwood proved to be a force on the track, winning several medals including a gold.
“I competed in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races. The 400 meters went well. I got bronze, though the actual race was rocky, because [issues with my wheelchair] and I had to contend with the wind. I had to fight for those 400 meters. Then with the 200 meters, I got gold, despite battling the rain. So that was a lot of fun,” said Redwood. “I didn’t medal in the 100 meters which was hard for me to swallow at first, because there’s a racer from Alberta, where our times are nearly identical. I knew that it was going to be her or I who would medal, and she beat me by less than half a second. That was a really close race [and] she earned that win, but it’s given me motivation to get gold next time.”
After Nationals, Redwood then competed in the provincials and Ontario Summer Games.
“At provincials, I wanted to get some personal bests, and I got them in the 400 meter and the 800 meters. I’ve just started learning the 800 meter this year, and I have been doing really well at those distance events,” said Redwood. “Then I did the Ontario Summer Games, which were amazing, because it was the first time that they’ve let para-athletes compete in and there was another first that happened, which was a wheelchair medley. And that hasn’t been done before, and it was a little bit of a learning curve for everybody.”
Nevertheless, Redwood continues to grow as a competitive athlete, acknowledging and successfully overcoming any obstacle that she encounters.
“I’ve learned how important the mental side of sports can be… I know that I’m adaptive and I can take failure, but I’m a perfectionist, and when it comes to wheelchair racing, I can really be hard on myself when I don’t get something right, or when I don’t get the time that I want,” explained Redwood. “I’m learning to be more [sparing] with myself and to allow myself to grow into it; not immediately expecting myself to be amazing.”
Redwood, who is currently on Team Ontario, maintains a strict training schedule, especially on her home soil of Brantford.
“Aside from my team training day in Mississauga once a week, I am on the track at the W. Ross Macdonald School in Brantford during most of the week. The Brantford Track and Field Club trains there as well and while I am not in it, is always very supportive,” said Redwood.
However, the champion racer has plans on building a successful career on the track.
“My immediate goals are to make the team for the Canada Summer Games, which will be in 2025. In some years from now, I hope to start competing internationally and my eventual goal is to make the Paralympics. That would be the ultimate goal that I am aiming for…and I believe I’m more than capable of getting there,” concluded Redwood.
