Ali Truwit transforms shark attack nightmare into powerful Paralympic silver glory

Ali Truwit is a 25-year-old swimmer from the USA who lost her leg due to a shark attack in May 2023 during a snorkeling trip to Turks and Caicos with her friend Sophie Pilkinton. While Ali lost her leg, Sophie was able to be saved with a tourniquet.

Days later, on her 23rd birthday, Ali had a leg amputation in New York City. Just one year later, she was back in the pool as a member of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and won two silver medals.

Ali Truwit wins Paralympic medals one year after losing leg

The road to recovery was long but Ali Truwit never lost her heart. Before the incident, Ali was a competitive swimmer at Yale University, where she took her tenacity to the pool and in her studies seriously. After the incident, she dedicatedly herself to adapting, to learning to swim again, and so on and showed the long-captive heart and spirit. In 2024, she emerged from the Paralympic Games in Paris with a silver medal finish in the 400-meter freestyle and a silver medal finish in the 100-meter backstroke.

Her journey compelled her to give back. She established the Stronger Than You Think Foundation, where she paid homage to three life-altering areas: prosthetic equipment, water safety, and support for Paralympic athletes.Speaking to People, she explained, “I wanted to give back to the same pillars that gave me my life again.”

Her foundation has already begun helping others with resources that she herself once relied on.

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Ali Truwit trains for New York City Marathon after Paralympics

As much as it is incredible that Ali Truwit is making a remarkable comeback in swimming, she is also paving new paths on dry land. Ali is currently in training for the 2025 New York City Marathon, using a running prosthesis blade. Just after the shark attack, she told a paramedic, "I will never run again." Today, she is proving that paramedics wrong. Her adventure extends beyond the pool. She walked the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway and in her foundation's donation to a swim program in Norwalk, Connecticut, gave $5,000 to educate children on being safe in and around water. For Ali, what began as a day of terror in the year of 2023 has become a story of resiliency, giving back, and new dreams.