It takes a mighty strong person to pull a ten thousand pound semi truck to the finish line, and apparently NorthCentral Wisconsin has quite a few strong individuals.
Today the Rothschild Police Department held the Annual Semi-Pull to benefit the Special Olympics at the Cedar Creek Mall
Sounds of eager spectators filled the afternoon air as men, women, and children came out to show they've got what it takes to pull tons of weight around.
The excitement could be seen on everyone's faces knowing that even National Strong Men competitors came out and strained their bodies to help some very important people, Special Olympic Athletes.
Strong Man Competitor Jason Buechel says, "With competing in the Strong-Man Tournament it’s about giving everything that you got, and with the Special Olympics tied to the sport pulls, the cost it draws in great attention."
Special Olympic Coordinator Theresa Pries says, "Demonstrate what it means to be a strong man and hopefully we can make this an annual event and not only a semi pull for next year but strong man event to raise money for Special Olympics."
And with the recognition and exposure the strong man contestants bring to the area, supporters say it helps these Special Olympic Athletes concentrate on improving in the sports they already participate in.
Special Olympic Supporter, Carol Kause says, "It’s fun to be around them to see how well they improve in their health and abilities in sports wise, as far as bowling or basket ball or skiing or downhill skiing".
More than one thousand people came out to cheer on contestants, and raised more than 15-thousand dollars at this year's Semi-Pull.