NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Ali Truwit '23 shared her inspiring story on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday. Truwit, a four-year letter winner for the Yale women's swimming and diving team, tragically lost her foot and part of her leg in a shark attack while she was swimming in Turks and Caicos two days after graduation. Now, Truwit is training to compete in the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer.
 
"Swimming was the first thing that saved my life and the second was my teammate Sophie [Pilkinton] '19. She applied a tourniquet on my leg and stopped the bleeding. I'm forever indebted to her," Truwit told Clarkson on the show.
 
Truwit was airlifted to Miami where a team of trauma doctors and another teammate Hannah [Walsh] '19 continued to save her life. She underwent surgeries to fight infection and had blood transfusions. On her 23rd birthday, she underwent amputation.
 
"That was followed by lots of tears and pain and devastation, and really big and heavy questions going through my mind in the hospital," Truwit said. 
 
Ten days before the attack, she had completed a marathon with her mother Jody, who was captain of the Yale women's swimming and diving team in 1991. Ali was determined not to lose her love of the water, and Paralympics evolved as a once in a lifetime chance to compete for her country. The 2024 Paralympics will come nearly a year after the attack and amputation. 
 
One of Truwit's inspirations has been Jessica Long, a 29-time Paralympic medalist who appeared with her on the show.
 
"What's amazing about meeting Jess is that for me she emulates what the vibe of Paralympic swimming as a whole is. And for me coming on deck what I felt was a rising tide lifts all ships. We're here to celebrate your wins as much as we're here to celebrate our own. To see that support while you have your own focuses and your hopes for your own races is really incredible."
 
At Yale, Truwit competed primarily in the distance freestyles. In 2019-20, she had the team's second-best time in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyles. At the Ivy League Championship, she finished 10th in both the 1000 and 1650 freestyle. She also had top-15 finishes at the Ivy Championships in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyles in 2018-19.
 
"The Yale Swimming community has been in the trenches with me since the first day this happened and has helped pull me through with nonstop love and visits from my coach and teammates and even ongoing weekly messages of support from my mom's teammates from the 1990s," Truwit said.