Amy Palmiero-Winters

Amy Palmiero-Winters, born on August 18, 1972, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, is a below-knee amputee, long-distance runner and triathlete who holds eleven world records in various events. A motorcycle accident in 1994 crushed her left leg, and after twenty-five surgeries it was amputated below the knee. She returned to racing with marathons, setting a below-knee amputee world record at the 2006 New York City Marathon and running a 3:04 at the 2006 Chicago Marathon. In 2009 she switched to ultramarathons and became the first amputee to win one outright, the Run to the Future 24-hour race. She was named to the United States team for the 2010 IAU 24-Hour World Championships, finished the 2010 Western States Endurance Run as the first amputee to do so, and in 2011 became the first female amputee to finish the Badwater Ultramarathon. She also won her class at the 2005 and 2006 paratriathlon world championships and received the 2010 James E. Sullivan Award.