Once, she was a newly minted college graduate celebrating freedom and youth in the Caribbean. Less than two years later, she’s strutting down the runway at Miami Swim Week for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, walking proudly on a prosthetic leg, standing beside Olympic stars like Olivia Dunne. Her story isn’t just about survival. It’s about reclamation. From a brutal shark attack to a Paralympic podium and now a modeling debut, this American swimmer is rewriting what it means to be beautiful, strong, and whole.

So, who are we talking about? Well, it’s none other than Ali Truwit. The date May 31 carries a powerful dual meaning in her life. On that day in 2023, her 23rd birthday, doctors amputated her left leg below the knee after a shark attack left her clinging to life. Just two years later, on her 25th birthday, she was walking, not in pain, but with purpose.

“Fast forward two years, and on my 25th birthday, I’m not only walking, but I’m walking down the runway for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit at Miami Swim Week,” she shared on Instagram. “Beyond grateful… for helping me see beauty in my new body,” Truwit added. Surely, for Truwit, this wasn’t just about posing in a swimsuit. It was a declaration. 

The same body that once made her sob in front of the mirror was now taking center stage, not despite its scars, but because of them. The flashbacks, the pain, and the agonizing struggle to use a prosthetic are all part of the path that led her here. She’s painfully honest about the journey. At her lowest, she’d stare at her reflection and cry, convinced she was “so ugly now.” But growth came in waves.

With each challenge—every ache, every awkward step—she built the resilience that now radiates from every photo she posts. The feature in SI Swimsuit is more than a modeling milestone. It’s a powerful symbol of self-acceptance. Truwit says she often scrolls through her old camera roll to remember where she started. In those moments, she sees not just the trauma, but the transformation. 

“To think about those fears and tears… and to think about where I’m at now is just a surreal moment for me,” she reflected. Her life has pivoted from fear to inspiration, from trauma to triumph. As the lights hit the runway in Miami, Truwit wasn’t just walking. She was representing. “I’m having the immense privilege of representing individuals with disabilities, Paralympians, and female athletes,” Truwit wrote.

With her appearance alongside high-profile athletes and models, she’s smashing through the boundaries of what’s typically shown as beautiful. In a world still catching up to inclusive representation, Ali Truwit has arrived. Not just to walk, but to shine. Meanwhile, despite overcoming her trauma, Truwit had flashbacks of the same in Paris.

How, despite being haunted by water, Alexandra Truwit found her true strength beneath the surface

The waters of La Défense Arena shimmered with excitement, echoing with the cheers of thousands. But for Alexandra Truwit, it was something else entirely. A trigger! As the former NCAA swimmer and now US Paralympian settled into the stands to support her teammates, something unexpected unraveled. The sleek, black underwater camera gliding through the pool jolted her back to the darkest moment of her life. 

“I realized I was staring at a really large, black underwater camera,” she recalled. Truwit added, “It evoked the exact shark-attack conditions that I had fought to survive.” It wasn’t just a flash of discomfort. Her chest tightened. Her goggles filled with tears the next day during training. Four night terrors followed.

Despite months of healing, both physically and mentally, her body betrayed her, reacting to a visual that mimicked her trauma too closely. “With that involuntary response that my body had in that moment, I felt like I lost all energy,” she said. Frustration built, not just at the experience, but at the cruel timing. Truwit had worked relentlessly to reach Paris, turning pain into purpose.

Now, in the very environment where she was supposed to shine, she was unraveling. But she didn’t surrender. Drawing on breathwork, mindfulness, and support from her coach and mother, a cognitive-behavioral therapist, Ali Truwit grounded herself with a mantra, “I’m safe, I’m safe, I’m safe.” She waved to the stands before her races, forcing herself to feel the presence of her loved ones.

Ali shared with TIME, “I remember taking the moment to look up and wave at the box and smile. That support was behind me, no matter what happened in the pool.” She turned the tide. Alexandra Truwit left Paris with two silver medals and two American records. And with a comeback far greater than athletic achievement. As it was survival, reclaimed in the very water that once haunted her.