Darien sends off swimmer who lost part of her leg in shark attack to Paralympics

DARIEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A local athlete is now on her way to Paris to compete in the Paralympic Games. Before she left, her hometown of Darien threw her a celebration fit for a hero.

Crowds packed downtown streets to cheer for Ali Truwit.

“I cannot believe this many people showed up and took time out of my morning to be here, and I hope everyone here knows what a difference maker it is and has been,” Truwit said.

In May of last year, Truwit was vacationing in Turks and Caicos with a friend, celebrating just graduating from Yale, when she went swimming in the ocean and a shark bit off the bottom part of her left leg.

“Just watching her have this inner strength and radiate it is something that’s been really incredible to watch,” said Truwit’s longtime friend, Caroline Strom.

In the last year, Truwit had the strength to not only get back in the water, but back into competitive swimming. She was part of high-level swim teams as a youth, and on Yale’s team for four years. In just the last year, she has learned how to compete with one leg, and qualified for the U.S. Paralympic swim team.

The Paralympics happen every four years, just like the Olympics. The games have many of the same events as the Olympics, and they always take place in the same place as the Olympics, just a few weeks later.

“Just knowing her and being around her, she is the most inspiring young person, human being, I’ve ever been around and there’s not enough adjectives to describe her,” said Truwit’s aunt, Tara Slowik.

Truwit is hoping the next way to describe her will be Paralympic medalist.

“If she medals, we’re going to have an even bigger celebration, from a proclamation to a parade to all of that,” Darien First Selectman Jon Zagrodzki (R) said. “But even if she doesn’t, you know what? She’s over there and making it happen and I’m really happy for her and her family.”

She will spend the next two weeks training in Paris. Competition starts at the end of the month.

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