Ali Truwit Is Running the New York City Marathon to Raise Money for Prosthetics for Women and Girls

The Paralympic swimmer is participating in the event just two years after losing her leg in a shark attack and is dedicated to empowering others with limb loss.

Ali Truwit was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINKLEMONAID. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Just over two years ago, Ali Truwit lost her leg in a shark attack while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos. The two-time Paralympic medalist has defied the odds ever since, qualifying for the Paris Olympics about a year after her May 2023 attack. The 25-year-old athlete earned two silver medals in the 400m-freestyle and 100m-backstroke races during her Olympic debut.

Today, the 2025 SI Swimsuit model is training for the New York City Marathon, which she will run in early November with her family and friends alongside her. Truwit’s goal is to run with a purpose and raise money for Stronger Than You Think, her nonprofit organization that empowers women and girls with limb loss by providing financial assistance for prosthetic limbs. Truwit’s goal is to bring awareness to the cause through her race, with a goal of raising $100,000. At press time, she has currently fundraised $82,496.

“[My hope is to] give more young women and girls prosthetic blades to run so that maybe someday they could run a marathon too,” Truwit tells SI Swimsuit. “And it really, that ‘why’ really keeps me going because there are hard parts of the training cycle or things that feel frustrating and even in mile 20 of the marathon, I know who I’m thinking of and it’s those young girls that we can give blades to.”

Truwit has a rigorous training schedule ahead of the New York City Marathon, consisting of strength training, treadmill workouts, outdoor runs and more, all of varying distances to prepare her for the big day. While she admits it’s been frustrating “learning how to run with a new body,” Truwit has an incredible mental fortitude and makes sure to prioritize physical therapy, acupuncture and dry needling to keep herself as healthy as possible.

At the end of the day, what drives her to succeed is showing herself—and others—that there are no limits. It’s precisely why she started her nonprofit in the first place.

“I just truly believe that we are all sitting on wells of capacity that we don’t know we have within us and if we can open our minds to it, we will surprise ourselves,” Truwit explains. “ ... Thinking back, you know, to my own personal journey, I had a million fears and worries and I can’ts and I’ll never, you know, I said I would never show my prosthetic leg, and here I am with SI Swimsuit modeling in, you know, a tiny bikini in my prosthetic leg. So it’s normal to feel like you can’t, or you’ll never, but the message that I come away with is you can, and you will.”

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