Swimmer.  Cyclist.  Runner.  Athlete.  Medalist.  Journalist.  Mentor.  Author.  Motivational Speaker.  Amazing Racer.  Paratriathlete. 

Sarah Reinertsen was born with Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency, a bone-growth disorder which later required an above-the-knee amputation at age seven.  With her parent’s full encouragement and support, she quickly began using a prosthesis for greater mobility.  Inspired by amputee marathon runner Paddy Rossbach, Sarah began to run at age 11. Two years later, at the age of 13, she competed in her first international track meet, breaking the 100m world record for female above-the-knee amputees. 

Sarah is recognized as a pioneer in limb different athletics and has held world records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 5km marathon, half marathon, full marathon, half Ironman and Ironman distances.  In 2005, Sarah became the first female amputee to complete the Ironman World Championships on a prosthetic limb.  In 2018, as the competition’s first limb different athlete, she completed the exclusive World Marathon Challenge, running seven full marathons on seven continents in seven days. Later that same year, she finished the Ironman World Championships in 14:41:05, beating her previous World Record time set in 2005 by 24 minutes.

“The advantage I have is mental. Losing my leg at the age of seven has made me very good at adapting, at not letting the glitches get me down. That’s a big part of racing, just rolling with the glitches.”

Today, Sarah currently uses several Össur prostheses, including the Dermo Wave liner with Seal, Total Knee 2100, Vari-Flex XC Rotate, and the Flex Run with Nike Sole, an innovation she helped catalyze by encouraging the two companies to collaborate.  Sarah competes in triathlons across the globe while supporting the next generation of challenged athletes as a mentor and role model. 

“I run because I want to use the body that I was given, whatever its imperfections.  I run to stay off the side-lines and in the race. Quite simply, I run because I can.”