On Sunday May 21st, Amy Winters, a below-knee amputee from Meadville Pennsylvania, finished the Cleveland Marathon in 3:26:19, knocking more than 27 minutes off the previous best time for a female amputee.
On Sunday May 21st, Amy Winters, a below-knee amputee from Meadville Pennsylvania, finished the Cleveland Marathon in 3:26:19, knocking more than 27 minutes off the previous best time for a female amputee.
The world-record comes only three months after Ms. Winters received her first running prosthesis from A Step Ahead Prosthetics, a company specializing in the treatment of young, active, elite amputee athletes from around the world. Ms. Winters averaged a 7:51 mile/minute pace, finishing 20th overall out of 3399 female runners, placing her in the top 1% percent of all female able-bodied competitors
Ms. Winters a 33 year-old welder and mother of two, lost her leg following a 1994 motorcycle accident. Twenty-five surgeries and three years later, her left leg was amputated below the knee. Following the amputation, it took 3 years before Ms. Winters could even try to run again.
“I was told in 1994 I wouldn't run again,” Ms. Winters said. “That lit a spark in me. I got a second chance in life with this special prosthesis.”
After receiving the running prosthesis from A Step Ahead, Ms. Winters was provided extensive professional training and advice as a member of Team A Step Ahead. This multi-disciplinary approach to her training regimen involved prosthetists, physical therapists, and other elite amputee athletes who are also Team A Step Ahead members.
With only three months in her new running leg, Ms. Winters’ world record does not represent the culmination of a career, but rather, merely a starting point. Her competitive plans for this year include competing in the New York City Triathlon, the World Triathlon Championships in Switzerland and a ½ Ironman Triathlon in San Diego.
“I eventually plan to also do the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii,” says Ms. Winters, who lists being the first female amputee to run a 100 mile ultra marathon as another future goal. Whatever she sets her mind to, it is clear that Ms. Winters is intent on satisfying the challenge issued by her prosthetist: “Live life without limitations!”
A Step Ahead Prosthetics is located in Hicksville, New York, and sponsors Team A Step Ahead, a group of elite amputee athletes from around the world who participate in high-level events like the Paralympics, Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, and marathons. Team A Step Ahead members hold or have held world records in the 100 m (female, above-knee amputee), 200 m (female, above-knee), 400 m (female, above knee), and marathon (female, above-knee and below-knee). Members also receive training from coaches with expertise training amputee athletes, including many Paralympians. In addition to providing customized athletic prostheses and related services to high-end athletes, A Step Ahead has developed the Skin Tones silicone covering, which protects prosthetic components while flawlessly duplicating the missing limb(s).
Contact: Phil Kreuter 516-681-3484
Mobility Health Care Consulting
