In the Paralympic Games, there are many stories that are great demonstrations of an individual’s resilience and effort, and this is no exception in the case of Ali Truwit. The swimmer is getting ready to compete in the Paralympic event just one year after losing her leg in a devastating shark attack.
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The Paralympic Games were born as a second chance for patients in rehabilitation, and it continues to be the same today for many people, as is the case with Truwit. "It's crazy, especially when I think about where I was just over a year ago," said 24-year-old Truwit to NBC News journalist Emilie Ikeda.
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Who is Ali Truwit, the Paralympic swimmer who will compete one year after losing her leg in a shark attack?
Born in Darien, Connecticut, Truwit competed on the Yale University swim team, where she graduated. During a trip to celebrate her graduation, the young woman traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands and was attacked while diving with a former teammate.
"A shark approached and began attacking us, aggressively hitting and ramming us from below, and we fought, pushed, and kicked, but very quickly it put my leg in its mouth," he recounted. "And the next thing I knew was that it had bitten my foot and part of my leg."
"So we made the split-second decision to swim to save our lives, about 75 yards in the open sea back to the boat," he added.
Truwit underwent multiple blood transfusions and surgeries, including amputation, and said that it was not easy to adapt to his new reality: “I remember leaving the hospital and asking my parents to grab all my shorts, short skirts, and short dresses and give them away,” he said. “I didn't want anyone to see my prosthetic leg,” he added.
Finally, she returned to the pool as part of her rehabilitation, and her former coach, Jamie Barone, came out of retirement to help Truwit with her recovery. "Without a doubt, she is the hardest worker I have ever met," said Barone.
"If at any point he had sent me a text message or called me and said, 'You know what? Today I'm going to stay in bed and cry,' everyone would have said, 'That's okay. Take the day, do whatever you want,'" she explained. "Not once. He has never missed a practice day."
Although she returned to the water to work on her recovery, initially, she gradually set even bigger goals and last year she competed again, winning a medal at the US Paralympic Swimming National Championship in December 2023. And a few months later, she qualified for the Paralympic Games.
Truwit will compete in the women’s 400m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 100m backstroke events at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which begin on August 28th.