Photograph of Amy Palmiero-Winters courtesy of USA Track and Field.
Team USA ultramarathoner and transtibial amputee Amy Palmiero-Winters has been named the winner of the 2009 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete. According to the USA Track & Field (USATF), Palmiero-Winters was chosen for her athletic achievements, contributions to society, and embodiment of the ideals of amateurism.
Accepting the award at the New York Athletic Club, Palmiero-Winters became the first USATF athlete to win the Sullivan Award since Michael Johnson in 1996. She joins other Sullivan Award winners from track and field such as Carl Lewis, Bruce Jenner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Mary Decker, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Rafer Johnson, Frank Shorter, and Edwin Moses.
“To me, this means a lot,” said Palmiero-Winters, who attended the April 14 ceremony with her two children, friends, and support crew. “It shows that what I do and how hard I try actually is making a difference. The people who believe in you and stand by you help you do better things.”
The first amputee ever named to a USA national team, Palmiero-Winters’ year was culminated and highlighted by the “Race to the Future” on New Year’s Eve, in which she beat all able-bodied male and female finishers. Covering 130.04 miles in the 24-hour race, her performance qualified her for the Team USA roster at the 2010 International Association of Ultrarunners’ 24-hour Run World Championship, to be held in Brive, France, May 13-14, 2010.
According to USATF, Winters competed in ten ultra-distance races in 2009, winning the women’s division at the Heartland 100 Mile in October, earning USATF Athlete of the Week honors. She became the first amputee to qualify for Western States 100 hundred-mile ultra marathon, and was the first amputee to run the Mount Washington Race.
The 37-year-old single mother works as a youth fitness director for A Step Ahead Prosthetics & Orthotics, Hicksville, New York. She also serves as a coach and motivational speaker. She is particularly devoted to working with children who are recovering from amputations and puts together 15 sports programs each year for young amputees. When not ultramarathoning, she runs six marathons each year pushing disabled people in their wheelchairs-traditional wheelchairs, rather than specially made racing chairs.
After a 1997 motorcycle accident and 27 surgeries, Palmiero-Winters had her left leg amputated transtibially. According to USATF, she has subsequently become a single-leg below-the-knee amputee world record holder in more than a dozen events, including the marathon and Ironman-distance triathlon. When not doing an overnight, 11-hour run, working full time, or spending time with her children, she enjoys rock climbing, ice climbing, and skiing.
