Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit launches a fund to pay her fellow Team USA athletes

Ali Truwit’s life changed on 24 May 2023, when she was attacked by a shark while swimming in Turks and Caicos. The injury led to a partial amputation of her leg the following month. What happened next has become one of the most remarkable stories in American Para sport: by late September 2023 she was back competing at her first Paralympic swim meet, and in August 2024 she stood on the Paris Paralympic podium twice.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Truwit captured two silver medals and set two American records, in the 100-meter backstroke S10 and the 400-meter freestyle S10. But rather than simply celebrating her own comeback, she turned her attention to a problem facing her teammates: many elite Para athletes struggle to make a living from their sport. “Roughly 57% of Team USA athletes make under $50,000 a year,” she has noted.

“The injury led to a partial amputation of her leg the following month.”

Her answer is the Stronger Than You Think Foundation, whose performance incentive fund provides monetary rewards to U.S. Paralympic swimmers who finish first, second or third — or set a world record — at designated competitions. The idea grew from watching the disparity between Olympic and Paralympic sport. “When I look at Olympic swimming and see the checks the swimmers get to hold when they win events at various world competitions, I want that for Para athletes too,” she said.

The fund distributed its inaugural awards in 2026, with further competitions planned through 2027 and 2028. It is a striking example of an athlete using her own hard-won platform to lift others: a swimmer who fought her way back from a life-threatening attack, now making sure that when her teammates reach the podium, their achievement comes with real, tangible support.