“Kona Conqueror, US Paralympic Team Member and Author, Sarah Reinertsen”

She’s spent her entire life on one leg. Afflicted with a birth defect that prevented the full growth of her left leg, Reinertsen has competed at the Olympic level in the Paralympic Games, raced and completed Kona and was a featured contestant on “The Amazing Race”. Learn more about her amazing story and new book…

Anyone who has followed triathlon over the past 5 years knows your story at Ironman Hawaii and your incredible story of DNFing one year and then storming back to become the first female above the knee amputee to finish.  What most people don’t know about is your background in aralympic track and field.  What was it like competing at the Barcelona Olympics and how was that experience different from Kona?
When I raced in the Paralympics in 1992, it was a very different experience from Kona first because I was only racing in the 100m dash, so it's a much shorter competition day!!  But outside of that I had similar disappointments in both the Olympics and in Ironman.  Missing the bike cut off in the 2004 Hawaii Ironman was as devastating as failing to go onto the finals at the Paralympic games.  I had been training for that Paralympic gold, and was the favored world record holder going into the Barcelona games, but tripped coming out of the starting blocks in the semi-final heat, didn't even make it to the finals and my Olympic dreams were dashed in a matter of seconds.  It was a bitter moment for me, but I learned a lot as an athlete from that disappointment.  

Your new book “In a single bound” chronicles your life story from the time you had your leg amputated (at age 7) through your feats at Kona and onto your role in CBS’ “Amazing Race”.  If you could go back in time and have any one of your life experiences again, what would it be and why?
I generally don't have many regrets in life, even the tough moments or some of the poor choices I made have taught me incredible life lessons.  I suppose if I could, I would want to re-play the "Amazing Race."  I mean, if we had done things differently maybe we would have won the million dollars, and made it through the whole race around the world!!   Nobody likes to DNF, especially not on national TV.

Kids can be especially brutal to others with disabilities.  What were some of the horror stories of your childhood with kids making fun of you and how did you respond?
Growing up with a disability wasn't easy for sure, especially when you were the only kid in your entire school (and school district) that had to wear a prosthetic leg, or had any physical disability (that you could see) and I did get teased quite a bit in elementary school.    I credit my parents for helping me through those tough moments, or those afternoons when I'd come home crying from school.   I'm also thankful that I found sports, because I know that running helped me channel that aggression in a healthy way.  After a tough day at school, I could run or sweat it out on the track, I love how a run or a good workout can turn any day around making a bad day into a good day. 

During your first attempt at Kona, NBC did a telling interview with you where you had referenced a youth soccer coach who actually pulled you out of practice and asked you to play by yourself in an effort to “protect” you from being hurt.  How often do you still think about that coach and have you spoken to him/her since that interview?
Yes, I have seen the soccer coach I refer to in my NBC interview from the 2004 Hawaii Ironman, he came out to a Nike event in New York City, and I share the story in the epilogue of my book, "In A Single Bound."  It is of course a childhood experience that profoundly affected me, and while I really don't dwell on it now as an adult, it was of course a source of inspiration for me to become an endurance athlete, to show the world not to underestimate my power as an athlete just because of my disability.  Through my work with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, I find that this act of exclusion is still happening to kids with disabilities in school gym classes and sports programs across the United States.  We still have a long way to go to make sure people with disabilities are given equal opportunities to play sports.  

Without the use of your left leg, but still going through aggressive training to prepare for Ironman distance events, what kind of soreness do you get on your left side?  Does your left glute tend to take the brunt of the work or your hip flexor?
My body certainly takes on some extra strains wearing a prosthetic, there are some chaffing, sweat and bio-mechanical challenges that I deal with on my residual limb.  I take extra precautions to treat my stump, before during and after any race.  My lower back also takes a fair bit of strain on the run, but I do weight training and core exercises that help me strengthen the muscles that I do have left.  Without a left a knee I am at a big disadvantage both on the bike and on the run.  On the bike too I can't get out of the saddle to climb hills either so I just have to sit in the saddle and spin up, I am truly out there pedaling with one leg.  I have done spin scan tests on my Computrainer, and on average, 90% of my power on the bike is coming from my one full leg. 

Being such an inspiration to others must carry with it great responsibilities (and rewards) knowing that you’ve helped touch so many lives in motivating others to do great things.  What are some of the most touching stories of motivation other athletes have credited you with helping them achieve?
That's a hard question, I have dozens of stories of people who have decided to give triathlon a go after seeing me do an Ironman....  and this has happened both with disabled and able-bodied athletes.  While I love to motivate ALL athletes, I understand very well, the extra barriers that people with disabilities have to entry into the sport.  It isn't just a matter of getting a wetsuit, a bike and a pair of run shoes, amputees often need a different prosthetic foot or socket to ride a bike or run, and that can be a huge hurdle to overcome.  It's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), they help pay for the handcycles, racing wheelchairs or prosthetic parts that someone may need to get into the sport.  For me it's not enough to just say, look how cool it is for me to do an Ironman and look how many different prosthetic legs I have to do sport, I feel a responsibility to make sure that others have access to the same adaptive equipment that I get to use.  The CAF has a grant program to help distribute that equipment and offers sports workshops to teach other people with disabilities how to swim, bike, run, climb, etc., I am so proud of this work and it's been a thrill to see this organization grow and help hundreds more get out and do sport.

Your book takes a funny angle in talking about your (um) personal life with a prosthetic.  Tell us your favorite or embarrassing story about dating a girl with a prosthetic leg!
I've had lots of funny humorous things happen, over the years.  Dating brought on another string of funny events, the classic one you're referring to from my book, "In A Single Bound," is when I went on a date and the guys was feeling up my leg for much of the film, but I didn't feel it since he was caressing the prosthetic leg not my real one!

Take us back to your 2nd trip to Kona.  Everyone has a dark patch or two during such a race.  Although the NBC cameras did a great job of only showing you smile!  What did you think about during that time and how did you overcome such thoughts?
I truly did smile for most of the day in Kona, it's one of my tricks that I use in racing, if you smile, it forces the whole body to take a brighter disposition and makes you feel happier even when you are suffering.  You can see this sunny smile even in the sports fiercest competitors like Chrissy Wellington and Natasha Badmann.  I actually thought a lot about Natascha's race style in Kona, I love how smiles even when she's hammering, she thanks the volunteers and you can just see the joy she feels when she's racing.  I also recognize that getting to do the Hawaii Ironman is an honor, a race that not every triathlete gets to do in their career, so how can you not smile all day when you get a chance to swim, bike and run in Ironman's most prestigious race.   The toughest times for me really came during the training, on those days when I felt to tired to get up for an early morning swim class (but got up anyway), or those long solo-training rides through the hot desert roads in California.  Those were the hard moments when there were no aid stations or people out there to encourage you to keep moving forward. 

All athletes have stories of bad races they wish they could go back and do again with one or two changes.  What race would you most like to go back to and what would you do differently?
Last year I got a stress fracture the day before a race in Orlando, Florida.... I would definitely like to go back and change that day.  The stress fracture happened in my right foot, my one good foot!!  I have recovered now, but it did slow me down a little bit in 2009.  I ended up racing in Florida anyway because I didn't want to pull out of the race, but running (and ultimately walking much of the race) only aggravated the fracture more.  It was one of the sillier things I've done in my athletic career, but I learned a lesson and I realized that I can't worry about one little race, I have to think about being an amputee for the rest of my life, and I must take better care of the one real foot I have.

OK, last one…softball.  You traveled the world as a paralympic athlete, internationally as a marathoner and triathlete and then went on the “Amazing Race” and ran on the Great Wall of China.  Give us your favorite place in the world, least favorite place in the world and why for both!
I love to travel, and I think racing or running in different countries is a great way to truly see a place.  You get to experience the sights and sounds much more closely on the bike, running through the countryside or diving into the local waters.   It's hard for me to pick one - there are so many beautiful places I've raced, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba... but I guess if I had to pick, Hawaii would be on the top of that list.  I do feel very at home on that island, and the swimming, biking and running in Kona is spectacular.  

Sarah Reinertsen
Born: New York  
Age: 34
First Triathlon: Carlsbad Triathlon, 2003
Lives: Orange County, CA
Career at a glance:

• 2009, 2007 & 2003 ITU World Champion Paratriathlete (Tri2 Division)
  
  
• 2005 First woman to finish Hawaii Ironman on prosthetic leg
  
  
• 2006 ESPY Award winner (Best Female Athlete w/ a Disability)
  
  
• Former world record holder for amputee women in the 100m, 200m, 400m, half-marathon & marathon
  
  
• Member of the US Disabled Track team (1989-1999)
  
  
• 1992 US Paralympic Team (Barcelona, Spain - 100m dash)

Back To News Center »