Katie Guillory is the assistant strength and conditioning coach for LSU gymnastics and beach volleyball, training athletes as a former one herself. She was a captain of LSU softball, most notably leading the team into the College World Series back in 2012.
She’s also a recent amputee after losing her left foot in a jet ski accident on July 4, 2025.
A little over six months later, Guillory is competing for $20,000 in a global health and fitness competition that relies on votes to make it through each round.
“It’s extremely uncharacteristic of me, but I just went big and did it, and so far so good,” Guillory said. “The community has stepped up big time in order to help me, and I just have to keep the ball rolling on that.”
Her online presence plays a hand in that. She shares bits of her recovery process, showcasing her optimistic attitude while also not diminishing the reality of amputation.
Guillory describes herself as straightforward, blunt and practical, so it was easier to instantly accept and make peace with her new situation.
Just over two weeks post-op, she was ready to get back in the swing of things here at LSU. She was discharged on a Saturday and texted her boss asking to come in to work on the following Monday. That same determination is what jump-started her recovery.
Guillory said she was in the best shape she’d achieved in a long time when the accident occurred. She may have lost her progress, but she credits her prior health and fitness for expediting her recovery process.
While life is a little more consistent these days, Guillory still faces the struggles of many amputees, including navigating prosthetics and pain regulation.
“At the mercy of her leg,” she adapts and finds ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Guillory began posting about her journey on social media as a method to hold herself accountable and connect with the amputee community, but the support she has received has been overwhelming.
“That’s kind of given me the juice to keep going in hard times, and I feel like now I’m in a pretty good spot,” Guillory said. “I have never felt more pulled to God’s calling than I do now.”
That’s exactly why she’s in the running for Ms. Health and Fitness, a charity competition for those promoting wellness within their community. Currently in the first round, Guillory is depending on voters to stay at the top of her group. Every week, there will be a cut until a winner is chosen among the remaining contestants.
“I figured, I have the momentum, I have the drive right now,” Guillory said. “I have the desire, I have the passion and I have the platform. Let me just give it a shot.”
If she won, Guillory would become the first amputee winner in the competition’s history, along with earning the cover of HERS Muscle and Fitness Magazine and that $20,000.
While it’s out of her comfort zone, Guillory has bigger reasons for wanting to enter.
“I hate that it makes it about me, but I’ve been told by so many people close to me that this is an opportunity to inspire those people around me,” Guillory said. “Use your platform and not even make a name for yourself, but show people that there is a way.”
That list of reasons includes her newfound dream of qualifying for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, which she has already begun training for in track and field.
“I feel like I got the ball rolling and I’m pretty clear on what I want to do in life now, and what I feel like God has called me to do,” Guillory said. “I think it’s up to me now to just kind of live that out to his fullest potential.”
That prize money would help fund her Paralympic ambitions, but her main goal in this competition is to just show others what’s possible.
“If I just wanted $20,000 for myself, I wouldn’t have gotten into the competition,” Guillory said. “Being able to utilize that money in a way that will either help others or will help me continue to inspire people through my actions — that’s what I want.”
Voting is on a daily basis, and those wishing to support Guillory can do so here.
