Palmiero-Winters, who comes from Hicksville in New York, became the first athlete to win the Sullivan Award since Michael Johnson in 1996 after he had become the first man in Olympic history to win the 200 and 400 metres double at the Games in Atlanta.

Presented since 1930, the Sullivan also is based on leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism.

She joins other Sullivan Award winners such as golfer Bobby Jones, tennis player Don Budge, decathlete Rafer Johnson, swimmer Mark Spitz, sprinters Carl Lewis and Florence Griffith Joyner and figure skater Michelle Kwan.

"To me, this means a lot," said Palmiero-Winters, who wore a white mini-dress to show off her prosthesis and who attended the ceremony with her two children, friends and support crew.

"It shows that what I do and how hard I try actually is making a difference.

"The people who believe in you and stand by you help you do better things."

The first amputee ever named to an American national team, Palmiero-Winters' year was culminated and highlighted by the "Race to the Future" on New Year's Eve, in which she beat all able-bodied male and female finishers.

Covering 130.04 miles in the 24-hour race, her performance qualified her for the United States team at the 2010 International Association of Ultrarunners' 24-hour Run World Championship, to be held in Brive, France on May 13-14.

Competing in no fewer than 10 ultra-distance races in 2009, Winters also won the women's division at the Heartland 100 Mile in October, earning the United States Track and Field (USATF) Athlete of the Week award.

She became the first amputee to qualify for Western States 100 mile ultra marathon and was the first amputee to run the Mount Washington Race.

The 37-year-old singer mother works as a youth fitness director for Hicksville-based prosthesis company "A Step Ahead," as well as serving as a coach and motivational speaker.

She is particularly devoted to working with children who are recovering from amputations, putting together 15 sports programmes each year for young amputees.

When not ultramarathoning, she runs six marathons each year pushing disabled people in their wheelchairs - traditional wheelchairs, rather than specially made racing chairs.

Next weekend, she will push a young girl in a marathon and speak at six schools and two hospitals.

After a 1997 motorcycle accident and 27 surgeries, Palmiero-Winters had her left leg amputated below the knee.

She has subsequently become a single-leg below-the-knee amputee world record holder in over a dozen events, including the marathon and Ironman distance triathlon.

When not doing an overnight, 11-hour run, working full-time or being a mum, she enjoys rock climbing, ice climbing and skiing.