21: Crash Amputee to 12 Time World Record Holder // The Story of Amy Palmiero-Winters

Amy Palmiero-Winters is a professional athlete, career-woman, mother and the founder of the One Step Ahead Foundation. After losing her left leg below the knee due to a motorcycle accident that occurred in 1994, Amy compiled a tremendous portfolio of world records and firsts for a female amputee in marathons, ultramarathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons. As she attained more and more achievements, she found herself in the position of being a role model, especially for young people with physical disabilities of their own. She soon found herself working extensively with children, introducing them to sports and athletics as a way of helping them overcome their physical limitations. After several years, Amy founded the One Step Ahead Foundation in order to provide even more opportunities for children with physical disabilities.  Amy currently holds eleven world records in various track events. In 2010, she was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States and the ESPN ESPY Award as the top female athlete with a disability in the world.  Also in 2010, Amy received the Women’s Sports Foundation Wilma Rudolph Courage Award, the Challenges Athletes Foundation Trail Blazer Award, the Huffington Post Game Changer Award and the USA Strength Award.  In 2011, Amy became the first female amputee to finish the Badwater Ultramarathon, which is described as “the world’s toughest foot race”. It is a 135-mile course starting at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California’s Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney.  She had a finish time of 41:26:42.   In 2011, Amy was the first amputee to run the Reykjavik, Iceland Marathon.  During her time in Iceland, Amy was honored with the 2011 Ossur Ultimate Athlete Award.   *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. *** Feedback? Questions? Comments? I would love to hear from you! Contact me at us via: Email (eric@ericgilbertwilliams.com), LinkedIn (@ericgilbertwilliams), Twitter (@ericgilbertw), or Instagram (@ericgilbertwilliams). EP Tags: television, hispanic, support, family, tragedy, focus, radio, show, syndication, latin, america, disruption, passion, accomplished, hustle, freedom

Om Podcasten

From Rock Bottom to Rockin' It explores personal stories about those who hit absolute rock bottom. Then got back up, wiped off the dust, kicked failure to the curb, and now they’re rockin’ it like you’d never believe. These interviews are intended to inspire, motivate, and give hope and vision to those in their rock bottom by sharing stories, tools, and the resources that our guests used to create their 'rockin' it' moments. Host Eric Gilbert-Williams is a Canadian Entrepreneur who faced hardships as a youth like bullying, learning disorders, drugs, and crime before discovering success through his entrepreneurial pursuits. During his times through these teen social challenges, he found self-esteem and the passion to change his life through listening to the inspirational stories of others who overcame deep hardships to create great success in their lives.