Amy Palmiero-Winters is an amputee who has accomplished ore than most people with two good legs. This year, she was the recipient of the Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. She currently competes and is excelling in world endurance races, but that is not even the really cool part of Amy’s story. The sad part is in 1994, when she was just 22-years-old, she was a welder by trade and a superior hurdler and marathon runner by love. However, her world was changed when a car ran through a stop sign and took Amy out on her motorcycle.

After the accident, doctors operated 25 times trying to save the leg, but the damage to her foot was just too great. It had been crushed so badly that it was down to a size 4, while her right foot is size 7 1/2. The amazing part is when facing a amputation, she decided to offer it a farewell the best way she knew how, by running a marathon. She ran a marathon in Columbus, Ohio, in slightly over four hours — high for her — then had the amputation.

Now, she continues her love of competition and works at A Step Ahead, a leading maker of prosthetics. She competes as a world-class athlete in races that last 24-hours, 100+ miles, up hill and through deserts. She even beats athletes with healthy legs and inspires people all over the world.