Sarah Reinertsen

Sarah Reinertsen is a Paralympic triathlete and former track athlete who gained prominence after making sports history in the Hawaii Ironman. This legendary race starts with a 2.4-mile swim, continues with a 112-mile bike, and culminates with a 26.2-mile run, all in a single day. On October 15, 2005, Reinertsen completed the Ironman World Championships in Kona in a time of 15 hours and 5 minutes, becoming the first woman to finish an Ironman on a prosthetic leg. Born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a bone-growth disorder, Reinertsen's affected leg was amputated above the knee at the age of seven. She broke the 100m world record for female above-knee amputees at the age of 13, and was a member of the US Disabled Track Team for 7 years, participating in the 1992 Summer Paralympics. In addition to her Ironman achievement, she also competed in "The Amazing Race," the Emmy-award-winning CBS reality TV series, where she was eliminated in 7th place.

Reinertsen's journey has been covered extensively in national newspapers and she has been featured on the covers of many magazines, such as Runner's World, Triathlete, Max Sports & Fitness, and Competitor. In 2009, she released a memoir, "In a Single Bound: Losing My Leg, Finding Myself and Training for Life," published by GPP Life. The book provides an honest, touching, and humorous account of her life as a feisty, one-legged girl striving to fit in with her two-legged friends, who grows up to become a world-class athlete and TV personality.

Reinertsen continues to race in triathlons and road races around the world and is a current member of the USAT National Paratriathlon team. She is a 3-time world champion in the ITU short course triathlon and won the Ironman 70.3 world championships in 2006. Her marathon runs include events in NYC, LA, Millennium New Zealand, London, and Boston. Throughout her career, she has broken the women's above-knee amputee marathon record several times. Her dedication to sports has earned her several honors and awards, including the US Olympic Committee Best Female Athlete with a Disability in 1991 and the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability in 2006.

Off the track, Reinertsen serves as a spokesperson for both Össur, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of prosthetic equipment, and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit that supports athletes with disabilities. She utilizes her experiences to mentor and inspire other athletes through a variety of Össur and CAF events, including hands-on sports workshops around the country that teach amputees how to run, spin, bike, and swim. Reinertsen is a dedicated motivational speaker, sharing her impactful story with audiences at multinational companies. In addition to her sports career and philanthropic endeavors, she has also been featured in Lincoln car ads and served as a captain for Team Refuel.

Reinertsen holds a BA in Communication and International Affairs from The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, and an MA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California. She currently lives and trains in California.