LAUREL, MS (WDAM) -
Spike Richards expected only 25 to 30 people would show up for his second annual crossfit event. Instead, over 120 competitors and over 100 spectators gathered at Spike's Sandlot in Laurel Saturday morning.
"It's absolutely overwhelming when you look up and you find out we didn't order enough food, we didn't have enough room, we had to get parking," said Richards, who runs Spike's Crossfit.
Crossfit trainers gathered from all over Mississippi, including Hattiesburg, Meridian and Ocean Springs, and even some from Mobile, Alabama; all for a grueling competition, and all in support of Katie Atwood.
In March of 2009, a car crash paralyzed Atwood, 21, from the neck down. Doctors said she would never walk again, and would have to live off a respirator for the rest of her life. Now in 2012, Atwood is making remarkable progress, and served as the guest of honor for "Fight for Katie."
"I've gotten off the breathing machine, and I have a little bit of movement," Said Atwood, "I believe with God's help, I'll be able to walk again one day." The event may have helped towards that dream. Richards competition raised $2,520, and all the proceeds are going to Atwood.
"It's just unreal. I don't know that I could do what she's done, but she's an inspiration to a lot of people," said Connie Atwood, Katy's mother.
Copyright WDAM 2012. All Rights Reserved.
"Fight for Katie" raised $2,520 for Katie Atwood, who became paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident in 2009.
