Ali Truwit completed one of the most astonishing success stories of the Paralympics, winning a silver medal just 16 months on from losing a leg in a vicious shark attack.
The American fought off the animal last year in the waters of Turks and Caicos in the Atlantic Ocean, but it came at a significant cost.
Having miraculously survived the attack, Truwit swam 70 metres to the safety of a boat, but not in time to save her left leg which was subsequently amputated.
Undeterred by a setback that would have ended the sporting ambitions of a lesser mortal, Truwit embarked on an incredible comeback story that culminated in a silver medal in the S10 400m freestyle last night.
Truwit had always enjoyed participating in sport during her teenage years but hopes swimming, even on a recreational level, appeared remote having survived an ordeal that took place during a snorkeling trip shortly after she had graduated from Yale university.
The 24-year-old’s recovery, both on a mental and physical level was far from straightforward, but a phone call to her former swimming coach, James Barone, changed the trajectory of her life.
Truwit only took part in her first Para event last October and less than a year later she now has tangible reward to show for her incredible comeback story, finishgin second behind Canada’s Aurelie Rivard.
‘My parents have done an incredible job in raising me and my three brothers to be adaptable and to try to look for the positives in life and appreciate all we’ve been given,’ she said when asked about here extraordinary bouncebackability.
‘When I was faced with a life-changing trauma, I worked to see the positives and to focus on gratitude and let that carry me and adapt to the situation I was in.
‘But I would also say that when you’re truly faced with death and you understand what a second chance at life means, you want to make the most of it. I’ve worked to do that and it has not been without an incredible, incredible support system.’
Given the circumstances in which she lost her leg, entering the water, even those as calm as the pool at the La Defense Arena in Paris, evoke memories of her ordeal.
‘Every day there is something new for me that evokes a new memory from the attack, because I was conscious the whole time, and truthfully, at the start, I thought that it was going to be that I overcame the fear and that was it.’ she adds.
‘I’ve learned through this journey that that isn’t what this looks like, that there will be days when it’s great and there are going to be days where I have to fight to get that love back, but I say I’m at a 90-10 right now at really feeling comfortable and happy in the water.’
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