First amputee to complete the Marathon des Sables (female)

Established in 1986, the Marathon des Sales is a gruelling, six-day ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco. Participants cover 251 km (156 mi) – approximately the same as six regular marathons – in unrelenting heat. Below-the-knee amputee Amy Palmiero-Winters (USA) finished this demanding race between 7 and 12 April 2019. Her preparation included practising burpees and lunges in a sauna, while her prosthetic leg was covered in heat-reflective paint and housed an air chamber for insulation.

In 1994, Amy Palmiero-Winters was involved in a motorcycle accident in which her left leg was crushed. Over the next three years, she underwent more than 20 operations in an effort to save her leg, before undergoing a below-the-knee amputation. She had previously been a keen runner, but it was only in 2000 that she was able to begin again. In 2006, she broke the record for a below-the-knee female amputee in the New York City Marathon, and in 2010, she became the recipient of ESPN’s ESPY Award for the top female athlete with a disability. As of February 2022, Amy Palmiero-Winters also holds GWR titles in the LA2 category for fastest marathon (female), fastest half marathon (female) and fastest 100 miles on a treadmill (female).