An American has won a silver medal at the Paris Paralympics just 16 months after losing her leg in a shark attack. Ali Truwit, a former Yale competitive swimmer, came second in the 400-meter freestyle event at the La Défense Arena in the French capital after a ferocious encounter with a shark days after graduating from Yale. The 24-year-old saved her own life by swimming to the shore, where a friend wrapped a tourniquet around her leg to stem the flow of blood. She was then airlifted to hospital, where doctors managed to save her life but were forced to amputate her leg below the knee.
Connecticut native Truwit told the media that when she first got back into the water after the attack, she experienced “flashbacks” and what she described as “electric shocks” throughout her legs. After her recent performance in Paris, the brave swimmer said the feeling was “indescribable” and thanked the people who supported her back into the sport she loves. Ms. Truwit said the shark attack was the worst thing she had experienced and something she would not wish on her worst enemy, but she focuses on recovery and strength, and this has helped her to thrive.
The attack happened when she was on vacation in Turks and Caicos with her pal to celebrate her graduation from Yale, where she majored in cognitive science and economics. Turks and Caicos are British-owned islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding waters have a large shark population. There are several species of the ancient creature in that part of the ocean, but the one that attacked Ali Truwit was a Caribbean reef shark, one of the largest predators in the sea.
The reef shark grows to almost ten feet long and is highly intelligent. It often exhibits unusual behaviors such as hiding in wait for prey. In recent years, its presence around the Caribbean has become a tourist attraction, with tour guides using bait to tempt it to come close to land or boats so visitors can feed it. Experts say they very rarely attacks humans and will only do so when they feel they or their young are under threat.
