Alexandra Truwit: The Paralympic swimmer who survived a shark attack

Alexandra Truwit, a recent Yale graduate with degrees in Cognitive Science and Economics, went on a celebratory trip to Turks and Caicos with her friend Sophie Pilkinton just two days after graduating. Both were standout competitive swimmers at Yale, but their trip took an unexpected turn that changed their lives forever.

On May 24, 2023, Ali and Sophie were out snorkeling in the calm, sunny waters of the Caribbean Sea. What began as a relaxing vacation quickly turned into a nightmare...

"I remember the whole attack, I was conscious the whole time. It is anyone's worst nightmare and it came true," the Paralympic swimmer recalls, according to Marca. The shark breached out the water to bite off a part of her leg and her foot, leading to an emergency amputation of the leg.

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Both swimmers tried to fend off the shark when it attacked, but it all happened too quickly. "We kicked and pushed him [the shark] back, but he bit me on the foot, and we had to swim between 50 and 75 meters back to the boat to save ourselves. Without our college training, I'm not sure we could have gotten back on the ship in the open sea," Ali recounted, per Marca.

"I kept saying to myself: 'stay conscious, get to the ship, get to the ship.' I relied on 15 years of competitive swimming to have some advantage in a situation where I had none," she recalls during the interview.

Once back on the boat, Sophie improvised a tourniquet to stop Ali's bleeding, an action that she credited with saving her life. The now Paralympic swimmer underwent three complicated surgeries in the hospital, according to ESPN.

While at the hospital, Ali Truwit spent much of her time reflecting on her past as a competitive swimmer—a passion she had picked up at an early age and one she would not let go of easily. Her mother, Jody, had also been a captain of the Yale swim team back in 1991, inspiring Alexandra's own journey in the sport.

Her orthopedic technician introduced her to American swimmer Jessica Long, a Paralympic legend with 29 medals—more than Michael Phelps himself. Alexandra, often called Ali, formed a strong bond with Jessica, admitting that she was "a great gift and inspiration during these transitioning months".

Truwit's childhood swimming coach, James Barone, remembers the first conversation he had with her after the attack. "Do you remember all those years when you tried to get me to kick with my feet? Well, I swam 70 meters to a boat without a foot," shared the Paralympic swimmer on NBC.

The sound of water splashing occasionally triggers flashbacks for Truwit, yet she could never give up swimming. Remarkably, she was back in the water just three months after the attack. Ten months later, she qualified for the United States Paralympic swim team, marking her return to the highest level of competitive swimming.

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