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Photo courtesy of Melanie Butez.
Team USA’s Zion Redington (center) will compete with Team USA’s Paralympic wheelchair rugby team during the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.
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Photo courtesy of the Redington family.
Heather Redington-Whitlock, Mark Whitlock, Zoë Redington and Zion Redington.
This month, Trussville teen Zion Redington will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in Paris. At age 18, he is the youngest player on the USA wheelchair rugby team by more than a decade.
Redington’s aggressive style of play and determination have earned him international recognition and playing opportunities. In 2022, Under Armour featured Redington as “an athlete no one saw coming” and invited him to their world headquarters. Now, he is determined to help his team win a gold medal this summer.
Wheelchair rugby, also known as “Murderball,” is designed for players who have a loss of function in at least three limbs and want to compete in a highly active, physical sport. While Redington was playing wheelchair basketball at age 9, a coach noticed his athletic talent and invited him to try wheelchair rugby. He was so much younger than all of the other players that it wasn’t his favorite at first, but getting to slam into other wheelchairs was enough for him to stick with it, Redington said.
Redington said he is still processing the fact that he was one of 16 players named to Team USA, which is a privilege he does not take lightly.
Photo courtesy of the Redington family.
Heather Redington-Whitlock, Mark Whitlock, Zoë Redington and Zion Redington.
“It's absolutely a joy to be able to represent my country and people with disabilities as part of the Paralympic movement,” he said. “But it's also an honor. It’s a push for due diligence of doing your best, making sure that you're in your best shape physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually so you’re at your absolute peak when you go to the games.”
Redington was adopted from China at 2 years old. His mother, Heather Redington-Whitlock, remembers seeing his photo for the first time.
“It was love at first sight,” she said. One of Redington’s sisters, Zoë, was also adopted through foster care.
Redington has a genetic deficiency called ectrodactyly that caused him to be born with one finger on each hand and one pinkie toe on each foot. When he was 6 years old, his mom, in consultation with his doctors, decided to amputate his feet so he could have greater mobility.
Until that time, he had spent many months in full leg casts because he had broken the bones in his feet multiple times. Since he started using prosthetics and a wheelchair, Redington has been able to try adaptive running, cycling, climbing, field events, swimming, surfing, sledding and hockey.
As an adaptive athlete, Redington is classified to play each sport based on factors such as range of motion and physical health. Each player is classified by points, and only a certain number of points are allowed to be represented in a game at once, informing coaches’ decisions on starting lineups and substitutions.
In wheelchair rugby, Redington is classified as a 3.5, which indicates the highest level of functional ability. He is an offensive player. Redington’s nicknames from Coach Joe Delgrave, a former two-time Paralympian, include “Zion the Lion” and “Thunder.”
Redington played on a wheelchair rugby team in Nashville until it dissolved, then he started commuting to Birmingham each week to play on the Lakeshore Foundation’s Demolition team. A year and a half ago, his family decided to move to Trussville to be closer to the Lakeshore Foundation, a world-renowned training facility for athletes with physical disabilities.
He has previously made the National Team and played in France, Denmark and Canada, as well as participating in the 2023 Parapan American Games in Chile, where Team USA won gold.
When Redington got the call that he’d made the Paralympic team, his mother couldn’t contain her joy and started throwing gold confetti she’d had ready just in case. His family’s support has been a crucial part of his Paralympic journey. From moving across states to raising support to help cover costs like his $13,000 wheelchair, Redington said he appreciates the sacrifices his family has made for his sport.
“My family’s support means everything,” he said. “They are my number one supporters. They're the people who've been with me in the mountains and valleys. They've been through it all, and it’s so great that my parents will be in Paris with me.”
A rising high school senior, Redington is homeschooled so he has time to train and travel. He is considering finance as his major in college and has narrowed his choices down to his top two colleges: University of Michigan and Auburn University.
His advice to aspiring young athletes on achieving their dreams is this: “One, don’t give up — no matter what. Two, do it — even when you don’t want to. Nike says it phenomenally—’just do it.’ And three, always look back at what you’ve done because you will learn from it. Whether it was a success or failure, you’ll find something to learn from it,” he said.
The Paralympics start Aug. 28, and wheelchair rugby competitions last from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2. CNBC, NBC and USA will air certain events, and the streaming service Peacock will air all 22 Paralympic events. Learn more at paralympic.org.
