Amputee Amy Palmiero-Winters Finishes, Wins 100-Mile Race

Amy Palmiero-Winters of Hicksville, NY, is USA Track and Field's athlete of the week after winning the Heartland "Spirit of the Prairie" 100-Mile Endurance Run on Oct. 11. That feat would be impressive enough, but Palmiero-Winters is a below-the-knee amputee who runs with the aid of a customized running prosthesis on her left leg.

Palmiero-Winters, 37, was injured in a 1994 motorcycle accident and eventually had her left leg was amputated below the knee. She didn't run again until 1997. In 2004 she finished second in her division in the Silver Strand Marathon, despite have a walking prosthesis on her left leg, and being five months pregnant with her second child. She placed third in her division in a triathlon the following year, still employing only the walking prosthesis..

Palmiero-Winters gained her running prosthesis, as well as a customized biking leg for use in triathlons, from A Step Ahead Prosthetics. She competes as a member of Team A Step Ahead, a group of disabled athletes.

At the Oct. 11 race, Palmiero-Winters posted the second fastest time in the event's history, finishing the 100 miles in 18 hours, 54 minutes and 13 seconds, with a 23-minute advantage over the race's runner-up. She's the first woman amputee to finish a 100-mile run.

Read more about Amy Palmiero-Winters and Team A Step Ahead on their respective Web sites.