21: Crash Amputee to 12 Time World Record Holder // The Story of Amy Palmiero-Winters

<p><strong>Amy Palmiero-Winters</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">is a professional athlete, career-woman, mother and the founder of the</span> <a href= "http://onestepaheadfoundation.org/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">One Step Ahead Foundation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. After losing her left leg below the knee due to a motorcycle accident that occurred in 1994, Amy compiled a tremendous portfolio of world records and firsts for a female amputee in marathons, ultramarathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons. As she attained more and more achievements, she found herself in the position of being a role model, especially for young people with physical disabilities of their own. She soon found herself working extensively with children, introducing them to sports and athletics as a way of helping them overcome their physical limitations. After several years, Amy founded the One Step Ahead Foundation in order to provide even more opportunities for children with physical disabilities. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amy currently holds eleven world records in various track events. In 2010, she was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States and the ESPN ESPY Award as the top female athlete with a disability in the world.  Also in 2010, Amy received the Women’s Sports Foundation Wilma Rudolph Courage Award, the Challenges Athletes Foundation Trail Blazer Award, the Huffington Post Game Changer Award and the USA Strength Award. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2011, Amy became the first female amputee to finish the Badwater Ultramarathon, which is described as “the world’s toughest foot race”. It is a 135-mile course starting at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California’s Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney.  She had a finish time of 41:26:42.   In 2011, Amy was the first amputee to run the Reykjavik, Iceland Marathon.  During