Shark attack and now Paralympics: Ali Truwit's fight back to life

A US swimmer whose story is both tragic and inspiring will compete in the Paralympics in Paris on Sunday. Ali Truwit, 24, was attacked by a shark in the Turks Islands in May 2023. On her birthday, her lower leg had to be amputated. Despite this stroke of fate and the trauma associated with it, the young woman is not giving up.

“Just bit through my foot”: Ali Truwit remembers her personal nightmare

Together with her friend Sophie, Truwit experienced a horror in the Turks Islands that changed her life forever. “We kicked and pushed at the shark, but it just bit through my foot,” Truwit told CBS. Despite the life-threatening situation, the two swimmers fought and managed to quickly swim 60 meters back to the boat. “Without our years of training, I'm not sure if we would have made it back to the boat in the open sea,” she added.

On her 23rd birthday, Ali Truwit's lower leg was amputated

After the attack, Truwit was flown to New York and underwent three operations. On her 23rd birthday, of all days, doctors had to amputate her left lower leg. “I had to overcome many dark days,” says the young swimmer, “but I'm alive and I almost wasn't alive anymore.”

Return to the water only with the help of trauma therapy

Through intensive rehabilitation, Truwit found her way back to the swimming pool, but it was extremely difficult for her to get back into the water she once loved. Since the attack, she has not swum in open water once. “The last time I heard the sound of water, we were swimming for our lives.” I remember the whole attack; “I was conscious the whole time,” says Truwit.

Thanks to trauma therapy, Truwit was able to combat her constant nightmares. “After my lower leg, I didn't want to lose my love of water as well. “Water and swimming have always been my first love,” she explains.