Ali Truwit didn't know if she would survive. Shortly after graduating from Yale, where she was a competitive swimmer, she was on vacation when she was attacked by a shark. Thanks to her incredible strength and the quick actions of her friends—one of whom applied a life-saving tourniquet—Ali survived, though she lost her lower leg in the attack. And now? She's a two-time Paralympic silver medalist and amputee who has turned a senseless tragedy into a powerful mission of hope.
Ali shares her remarkable journey of recovery, from the early days of facing a debilitating fear of water to becoming an American record holder and medaling at the Paris Paralympics. We discuss everything from the power of community and support systems to the "stronger than you think" philosophy that led to the creation of her nonprofit and documentary.
IN THIS EPISODE
- The emotional experience of running the NYC Marathon with her support system
- The details of the shark attack and the heroic actions of her friend, Sophie
- Learning to find hope and joy after trauma
- The "permission to feel and intention to reset" strategy
- Redefining what's possible in a "new body"
- The mission behind her nonprofit, Stronger Than You Think
- Representing the Paralympic movement in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and in her work as a Nike athlete
QUOTABLE MOMENTS
On Mindset and Resilience
- "The message that we're stronger than we think is for everyone. We all go through hard times and trauma and hardship and I think that message that you have more in you is something that I hope everyone sees."
- "If you ask 'why me?' ... make sure you're asking it in both directions."
- "Our fears and our feelings are not facts."
On the Power of Community
- "Community really is so important. I think about my journey as a testament to the power of community and support."
- "There really is no wrong form of support. Whatever you have to give, whenever you have to give it, matters and moves the person forward."
On Growth and New Beginnings
- "I'm swimming faster than I ever swam in certain events with two legs. It's a message to myself of what is still possible for me in this new body."
- "I can take this bad, senseless trauma that happened to me and use it for good."
- "It's just as likely that things can go better than you expect than it is that they might not go well at all."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The message that we're stronger than we think is for everyone, right,
Like we all go through hard times in trauma and hardship,
and I think that message that you have more in
you is something that I hope everyone sees in our
community and feels for themselves too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, Hey, Emily Abodi. Here you are listening to another
episode of Hurdle, a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and
true stories of the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,
empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life
and of course, conquer your own hurdles. This week, I
(00:49):
am sitting down with Ali Truett. She's a two time
Paralympic silver medallist and sharp attack survivor who's turned a
senseless tragedy into a powerful mission a hope. Shortly after
graduating up from Yale, where she was a competitive swimmer,
Ali's life changed forever when she was attacked by a
(01:09):
shark on vacation. Thanks to her own incredible strength and
the quick actions of her friends, one of whom applied
a life saving tourniquet, Ali survived, though she lost her
lower leg in the attack. In the episode today, Ali
shares her remarkable journey of recovery, from the early days
of facing a fear of the water to becoming an
(01:30):
American record holder and meddling at the Paris Paralympics. We
discuss everything from the power of community and how her
support system, including her parents and teammates, helped her navigate
the lowest lows, to mindset shifts, and her stronger than
You Think philosophy, the origins of her nonprofit and documentary,
(01:50):
both dedicated to helping others find their inner strength. Make
sure you're following along with Hurdle over on social It's
at Hurdle podcast. You can also check out Iheartwoman's Sports
over at Iheartwoman's Sports and me over at Emily a Body.
Listen to Hurdle with Emily a Body on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And with that,
(02:12):
let's get to it. Let's get to hurdle it. Today,
I am sitting down with Ali Truitt. She's a two
time Paralympic silver medalist. She's also a shark attack survivor
founder of a non prophet that we'll talk about today.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Ali Truant, Welcome to Hurdle. How are you. Thank you,
I'm good. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I am very excited to get an update because when
we met it was just before you ran the New
York City Marathon.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Tell me how you're feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Oh my gosh, it was so fun. We had such
a fun time. And you know, I know a lot
of people talk about when it goes silent on the bridge,
like mile fifteen sixteen, and how that can feel hard. Yeah,
And I had read someone say like you said as
an opportunity to check in with your and I had
this moment where I was like, you just don't get
to run twenty six point two miles alongside fourteen or
(03:06):
fifteen friends and family like every mile the whole race.
And it was a cool moment in the middle of
the race to be like, what a gift to be
running this alongside so many friends and family doing it
step by step with them. So that was so special
to have my mom, my dad, so many friends. It
was so fun. And you know, you hear a lot
like the crowd carries you. I've been to cheer and
people say that, yeah, then to run it, you're like,
(03:28):
the crowd carries your is so helpful.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I was like this is so fun. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So for those that don't have context, you said running
alongside fourteen fifteen people, Yes, not everyone's typical marathon experience,
but a very special experience for you.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yes, it was so.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I ten days before I lost my lower leg in
a shark attack, I had run a marathon with my mom,
and so it was this goal kind of living in
the back of my mind. I think year one, I
felt like I wasn't going to be able to reclaim
and then it just felt really hard and painful. Your two,
I got access to a prosthetic running blade, and it
changed my mindset. So the goal creep back into my mind.
(04:08):
I decided I wanted to try to run the marathon,
and I did it alongside my mom and my dad
and then a lot of my friends, my cousin, my uncle.
Two of my friends were two college teammates who were
pivotal in saving my life.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
One of them was in the water with me during
the attack.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And to do that alongside so many people in your
life who truly have been there at the low points,
picked you up, been side by side with me this
whole recovery, It's something I'm going to look back on
for the rest of my life and be like, what
a treat to get to do that alongside them, and
for all of them to sacrifice, you know, their time
and their training to do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
It's not like you were just like, Hey, does everyone
want to meet up on this specific day to do dinner?
Because even that these days can be a challenge to
rally together totally a bunch of people at the same
time in the same place you recommended. No, we're all
going to do this extravagant emotional event together. Running a
marathon is such an emotional experience within itself. Give me
(05:08):
some insight into the feelings you experienced as you looked
around and saw your support system going with you step
by step.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think every time I think about it, I get
chills because it's one of those moments where you're like,
I can't believe that this is what's happening right now, that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
We're doing this.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Like to think back, you know, there were moments during
the race where I would think back to those moments
right after the attack where I was like, I'm never
gonna run again.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
I love running.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I just ran a marathon and it's never happening again.
And to be running and think back to that and
then kind of almost see my recovery and all the
people right next to me who had played such pivotal
roles throughout that whole thing to enable me to be
in a position where I was running a marathon. It's
just like the coolest, coolest thing, and especially you know,
cherishing getting to to have done one right before the
(05:57):
attack with my mom, lose my leg, and then run
another one with her on a prosthetic. I feel like
with such a full circle moment for us too. Yeah,
and you know, I know what I went through myself
was really hard and I can't imagine as a parent
how hard that was. So it felt like a really
special moment for us as well, that, you know, as
I was running alongside her, just reflecting, and of course
(06:18):
my dad too.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I think that's so special, also so special, so special.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
I'm like, I'm like, my eyes are wet just thinking
about the emotions that go with that. And to your point,
it's so beautiful to hear you say I can't imagine
what it must have felt like for my parents, despite
you also obviously going through.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Such a traumatic event.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
That shows compassion beyond I think anyone's years.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Really, you definitely think about I have an incredible support
system that I'm so grateful for. That is a big reason,
you know, I was so excited to get out there
and pass that support on and pay it forward. But
you definitely think about, or I do, the toll that
it takes on them to be that emotional support and
helped me through this. So I think it was a
(07:06):
great moment for all of us just to celebrate what
we had all overcome, my friends, my family, my whole community.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, and you mentioned two of your good friends, Sophie
and Hannah that ran the marathon with you. Sophie was
with you when you were attacked by the shark. For
those that are not familiar with your story, give us
a little bit of insight into what happened.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
On that day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So, two days after my college graduation a little bit
over two years ago, I was on a celebratory trip
with my friend Sophie, who was the captain of my
college swim team my freshman year, and we were snorkeling
in a very common shallow snorkeling reef. Seemingly out of nowhere,
a shark appeared and started attacking us. We fought back,
(07:53):
but pretty quickly it got my leg in its mouth,
and the next thing I knew, it had bitten off
my foot, part of my leg. I was bleeding out
in the water, and we screamed for help, but no
help came. So Sophie and I made this second decision
to swim for our lives back to the boat, which
(08:13):
was seventy five yards away in the open ocean, with
the shark chasing us.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
And I was footless.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
And bleeding, and immediately on the boat, Sophie as the
captain for a tourniquet and applied it to my leg
to save my life. And I will be forever indebted
to her. I am in awe of you know. It's
one thing to have that medical knowledge and the skill
to apply a tournique. It's another to do that after
(08:40):
having just been attacked yourself and staring at your footless,
bleeding best friend. It's beyond the level of knowing it
from a doctor's side, but also from someone who just
has unimaginable strength and selflessness and courage. And I just
look up to her in so many ways. So it
was again running alongside her, such a moment for us,
(09:00):
you know, She was the first person, along with the
first responder, who witnessed that doubt in me that I
was never going to be able to run again, and
so just so healing for us. And then I was
airlifted to a trauma hospital in Miami, and coincidentally, Sophie
and my friend Hannah, who was also on my college
swim team, was in medical school rotations at that exact
(09:22):
trauma hospital.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
That is beyond Yeah, like that to me is truly
call it fate. Maybe if you're a spiritual person, like
that is someone's looking out for you.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Yeah, that's what you know.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
It's easy to look at my journey and what happened
to me and kind of wallow in the negativity of
it and the y me and all the things that
went wrong for me, And I definitely fall into that
and have fallen into that. It's I would be lying
if I said I didn't have some of those thoughts.
But I work really hard to also recenter myself on
all the things that went right, all the things I'm
(09:58):
lucky for in that story that kept me alt I've
here today, And having Sophie and Hannah in those moments,
in those places is something that's like just the hugest
miracle that I really focused on in those early days
of grief and pain, to be like, how lucky am
I that they saved my life, that they were in
those places in those moments. So Hannah ran it with
(10:18):
us too, and that was so so fun, so special.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
They're incredible.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
They're both juggling medical school rotations and residency and amidst
all that training for a marathon.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So wow, it was awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, absolutely wild, that perspective of look at all that
went right when also simultaneously so much is going wrong.
Have you always been able to approach things in that
way or is that mindset shift something that you've had
to learn over time.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I think a lot of what's helped me through the
past two years recovering from a shark attack and an
amputation our habits that I have set in place my
whole life, And it's something I'm so grateful for because
you don't know when you're going to need to call
on them, and obviously it's never too late to start,
but to have that put in place of these are
habits I've practiced for years and years and years that
I'm now going to turn to was really helpful and
(11:11):
so growing up, my mom is a cognitive behavioral therapist,
and growing up she encouraged me and my three brothers.
It's natural to feel like you want to sit in
certain situations that go wrong and say why me? Why
did this happen to me? And she was like, if
you ask why me, do it? Ask it, but make
(11:32):
sure you're asking it in both directions.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
So why me? Why'd I get attacked by a shark?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Why did I lose my leg at twenty three years
old enough to be an amputee for the rest of
my life?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Why me? But also why me?
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Why did I get to stay calm and have the
inner strength and the swimming skill to save my life?
Why did I have friends and family who rallied behind
me like no other and showed up in unimaginable ways?
Why did I never get to worry about food on
the table?
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Right like a million? Why me?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
In the positive direction? And so that habit I think,
in that moment where it was so easy to sit
there and say why me? Was this this habit I
called on to say, let's also think about all the
things that went right for me.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
In that moment? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Wow, again, such a beautiful and impressive perspective, something that
so many can learn from. Now I know that you
are actively and very passionate about paying it forward. Now,
all of these difficult experiences that you've been through came
full circle for you to create your nonprofit. Talk to
(12:36):
me a little bit about your nonprofit and why it's
so important to you.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I think early on I knew that all the support
I was receiving was something I was so lucky for,
and it was a complete game changer for me, like
a total difference maker in my recovery, and I really
couldn't wait until I could pay it forward. I think
joining the amputee community, I was shocked at how expensive
prosthetics are, littles covered by insurance relative to what's needed,
(13:03):
you know, I was learning that prosthetics can range from
ten thousand dollars to over one hundred thousand dollars. It
felt like life as an amputee was hard enough as is,
that we shouldn't also have to be concerned with at
a ford a part of our body that we need
just to live. So I wanted to do something about it,
and I founded my nonprofit. Stronger than you think it
supports the three pillars I say that saved my life
(13:24):
and helped me rebuild it. So that's water safety, the
Paralympic movement, and funding for prosthetics for women and girls.
And it truly is just a hug to my heart
to be able to do this work. It's so healing
to say I can take this bad, senseless trauma that
happened to me and use it for good. And it's
been really exciting to have the impact that we've had
to date we've been able to give fifteen prosthetics, but
(13:46):
it's also very motivating to continue doing everything I can
to continue having impact there. And I think one of
my favorite things too is, you know, financially it's important
to have that impact and it's a focus of mine,
but so focused on the support and the community and
the friendship that's coming out of this nonprofit. And that's
(14:06):
with our recipients, and that's with our supporters and our followers,
and whether you fall into those three pillars or not,
the message that we're stronger than we think is for everyone, right,
Like we all go through hard times in trauma and hardship,
and I think that message that you have more in
you is something that I hope everyone sees in our
community and feels for themselves too.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Where did the name come from?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's honestly one of my biggest learnings from the two years.
We are so much stronger than we think. We have
way more in us than we might think we do. Yeah,
And I learned that for myself, Like, if you had
asked me out these two years were go. That was
never what I would have predicted. And you know, I
remember in I think I was in high school, I
heard David Goggins, you know, David gosh days. He had
(14:50):
said that we're all only operating at forty percent of
our human capacity, our potential. And I think when I
first heard that in high school or whatever it was,
I was like, oh, maybe, like you, I didn't totally
believe it. Yeah, And these past two years, I'm like,
he's right, Like, we have so much more in us.
We're just sitting on these wells of capacity, and if
we can open our minds to that and believe it
(15:11):
even just a little bit, we will surprise ourselves with
what we overcome, with what we can achieve physically.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So the name really is that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Big learning that I learned that I hope to spread
to everyone who learns my story or about the nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah, and it's also the name of your documentary.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I want to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
A bit about that experience from the get go. So
when did you solidify that this was a project that
you were going to work on.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So basically, the documentary, which is also called Starting Than
You Think, chronicles kind of my journey from shark attack
and amputation.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
To the Paris Paralympics a year later.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
So it is that first year of navigating life as
an amputee, adjusting learning, facing setbacks, and also at the
same time trying to get back in the water and
train for the parent Olympics. We worked with an all
female crew. They are incredible and just so amazing at
really hearing my goals in sharing my story and having
(16:10):
that come to life in this documentary. So I'm really excited.
It's been premiering in some film festivals, which has been
so fun. And to continue spreading that message of hope,
to shine a light on the Paralympic movement and the
fact that we can bounce back after life knocks us down,
it's really meaningful for me.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
How did it feel to go through the process of
having people join in so regularly to learn about you,
to learn about your story. Were there things that you
didn't expect, things that really brought you joy.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
When they come and film you definitely know those you
can't there, but you do. I've heard people say you
forget the cameras there and you kind of do, so
that part I had heard.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
And I didn't.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
I every time I hear that, I'm like, no, way,
like you see a camera there. But but I think
as especially just in such an emotional hard year, I
had so many things to focus on that I did
kind of sometimes forget that we are being filmed, and
and I think that's nice, because I really my goal was,
if I'm sharing my journey, I do want to make
sure I'm sharing those highs and the shiny fun moments
(17:30):
to show you know, what you can go back get
back to after such a dramatic or heart event, but
at the same time to show the low moments, to
be authentic about that journey. And if someone finds themselves
crying on a couch just like I did several times,
that doesn't rule out the possibility of making it to
the Paralympic podium. A few months later or whatever that
equivalent is for someone, and so.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So I'm grateful that that's how that played out.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I think it was you know, they were so great
to be around, so it really was fun and it
was such a cool moment just to shine a light
on so many things I was focused on. I think
in the day to day of the filming, that's not
necessarily what you're thinking about. You're just letting someone film
your life, and it was fun to kind of see
that process of how that all comes together and to
(18:14):
learn more. You know, you film for so many hours
and a lot of it gets cut, just the nature of.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It, and so that was cool to learn about too.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
You said that, you know, the last couple of years
involved a lot of things that you could have never anticipated.
There has to be also a grief that goes along
with that. There's this really beautiful opportunity and perspective that
you vocalize that you've been able to obtain, which is, wow,
look how beautiful this can be.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
And also you never thought you would be doing this.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Talk to me a little bit about what that grieving
process looks like for you.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I think grief is something that you know will live
with me forever. I don't think you grieve and you
heal and it's done. And I've learned that through this
traumatic event, and it's taught me to have grace with
myself to know that grief comes in waves and can
appear at the craziest times where you wouldn't even expect it.
(19:11):
The smallest things can kind of cause grief and bring
it back up, and so the grieving process for me
hasn't continues to be a bumpy road, and I think
just understanding that being a little bit softer with myself
and gentler of knowing that it can come at any time,
knowing that it's okay to grief and take that moment
(19:32):
and feel sad. Something for me that that doesn't really
work is just moving immediately into kind of the positive
reset a. I call it permission to feel, an intention
to reset. And so first for me, like grief, feel
feel sad, feel upset, let yourself think those thoughts, just
don't stay there, then press the reset button and get
(19:53):
back up. That's been really helpful for me. But there
have been so many moments where the smallest things even
like and I think it's important, right, Like I was
so proud, so excited to run a marathon on a
prosthetic blade. I can't believe that's what I just got
to do and what I was able to do. And
at the same time, there were several times in there
where I did grieve what it used to feel like
(20:14):
to run on two feet, how freeing it was, how
easy compared to running on a prosthetic blade it was.
You know, those challenges bring up that grief of like
what that used to feel like, And that happens all
the time. Yeah, so I think it's something that lives
with you forever. And at times it's tightened and at
times it's not. For me, it's really been learning, like
(20:36):
they go hand in hand. It's not just because you're
feeling one way you can't feel another. My mom calls
it holding the dialectic to two opposite feelings can be
true at the same time.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, a lot happening simultaneously. When was the last time
that it almost unexpectedly hit you? You said it can be
triggered by like very small all moments.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I've had so many, I think I don't know, I've
probably a recent one. I mean to be honest, like
sometimes even I'll be like scrolling Instagram and just even
like watching someone's like day in the life of like
getting to throw on their running sneakers and shorts and
go out, and then getting to throw on cute heels
and go out, and like watching that that's like no
longer how that looks like for me when it used
to be And I don't even know what was something
(21:22):
I was supposed to be grateful for, right like, oh,
just throwing on my shoes with something I was supposed
to be like, thank gosh, I can do this, And
now it's like I have to adjust a prosthetic ankle
to fit the arch height, right Like there's all these
things that I think. The other day, I was trying
to put on tights because it's cold out, and dressing
over a prosthetic leg is like have you ever put
clothes on a Barbie doll and it gets all stuck
(21:42):
on the like and getting frustrated there. Then I'm like
this used to never be something, and now for the
rest of my life, if I want to wear tights,
but I have to wrestle, and it seems so small, right, like, Okay,
don't wear tights, or take some time and put your
tights on. But but it brings up that larger feeling
of like life is different now.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, And that's not to say I'm gonna figure it out.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
I'm to learn it and and maybe that's kind of
a small problem relative and I'm alive and I'm so
lucky for that. But also I can grieve things that
used to be simple, things that used to be easy,
the way my life used to look. So so I
think even those small things you never expect, right, like
getting dressed to go out, and I'm yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Entirely understandable, Like as as someone that does have two legs,
I get frustrated putting on tights. I can't even I
cannot even imagine. It's such an understandable place to be
coming from. Now, you also in this the last two
years were nothing like I expected. I mean, you definitely
didn't think about becoming a Paralympian or an olympian when
(22:39):
you were graduating college. Talk to me about getting back
in the water. And when that transformed from I'm just
going to face this fear to I'm going to take
this to another level.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I think pretty early on in my recovery, I realized
that I was feeling fearful of the water, and the
water is something I have loved my whole life. I've
been a competitive swimmer to some degree since I was
seven years old. I find so much dooy and peace
in the water, and it's been a safe and happy
(23:12):
place for me forever. And after the attack, after being
conscious in the ocean for the attack, I was really
scared of the water and like I would go to
take a shower and the sound of the water would
trigger a flashback wow, and I felt really upset, Like
I was like, this is something I've loved forever that
now I've lost too. And I had this moment where
(23:34):
I was like, some things that I've lost here I'm
not getting back, Like I'm not getting my foot back,
but there are some things that I can fight to
get back. And if it's on the table for me
to fight for, I'm going to fight for it. And
I decided I was starting with the water, and I
got back in our backyard pool and I got back
in in with a floaty around my waist as a
(23:55):
Division one college swarmer, because we weren't sure, like physically
or emotionally, how I was going to respond, and it
was this really kind of like exposure therapy progression where
I put a toe in, then I put my ankle.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
It like kind of built up to it.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
But I think those early days were really working, like
you said, to face that fear, to show myself it
was something I could reclaim. I would get these like
moments where things felt good again in the water, and
I would cling to them and be like, if I
can just keep doing this.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It'll build, it'll grow.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
And I had actually had Noah Lambert, who's a Paralympic
check and feal.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
That's she's a hurdler too. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
She reached out about a month in to be supportive
and had said one thing she said to me, and
the call was considered the Paralympics, it's really healing you.
I think would really enjoy it, like just think about it.
And when I first heard her, I was like, Okay, no,
why they're in eleven months, Like there's no way a
month into a shark attack and amputation. So appreciated the
(24:50):
support and the call, but I was like that part,
like I'm just that's not going to be where I'm at.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And as I kind of kept swimming and did it
more and.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
More also for physical therapy because that was waiting for
a prosthetic leg. I started to have the idea creep
in like hey, what if I could do that? What
if I could pull that off? And that was really
exciting to me. I always have like what if I fail?
What if I don't do well? What if this goes wrong?
To have the like what if in nine months I
could train and qualify for TMUSA for the Paris Paralympics.
(25:19):
Was this like hugely positive, exciting what if that? I
was like, should I just lean into that and go
for it? And I think, you know, even though it
seemed like such a small chance and I knew it
was going to be pulling a rabbit out of a
hat to try to do it, the opportunity to represent
your country at that level like is so cool and
(25:39):
so special. So that's when I was like, Okay, I
think I'm going to go for it and start training.
And at that point I had nine months to really
get back and shape in the water and start getting
some cardio based back and then start learning how to
swim with one leg instead of two and swimming to
a level that would enable me to qualify.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Yeah, and I mean spoiler alert, we didn't just qualify,
then we meddled, and now you're an American record holder. Yes,
which is so special, all of it, not just taking
into account the mental gymnastics that had to go hand
in hand with getting back in the water, but to
now swim faster than you did when you had two legs.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
When I say that to you, how does it make
you feel? I feel really proud of that.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I know the work that it took to get there,
as you said, emotionally and physically. I think, you know,
it's a message to myself of what is possible for
me in this new body. I think at the start,
naturally you have a lot of fears, a lot of worries,
and to be in a place where I'm swimming faster
than I ever swam in certain events with two legs
is a message to myself of what is still possible,
(26:46):
and I hope it's a message to other people watching too.
I think, you know, a big goal for a lot
of Paralympians is changing the perception of disability that the
people hold, and I think being able to say that
with one leg I'm swimming faster at the Paralympics than
I did with two legs is hopefully spreading that message
and showing that. And you know, I talk a lot
(27:07):
about for me to make and metal at the Paralympics,
I needed to swim times that I had swum to
get recruited Division one to you with two legs, but
with one.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And it's really fast and competitive.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And I think that achievement for me of swimming even
faster was in line with what I had learned there
and that message too.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
I also really love the perspective of what if the
best thing happens, what if it's better than I imagined.
I texted a girlfriend earlier today and I said, what's
something that you want to happen by the end of
twenty twenty six that feels so much bigger than you?
(27:48):
And sometimes it is as simple as putting it out
into the universe and saying why not me? It is
just as likely that things can go better than you
expect than it is that they might not go well
at all. And we are constantly trapped in this grief
and shame spiral and this comparison moment right that we
(28:11):
don't allow ourselves the opportunity to dream. So when you
think now about what if it's even better than I anticipated?
And you think forward what comes to mind for you?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
You know, I think also, just like on what you
just said, for me, it takes work to get yourself
to that other headspace. It's not just something that kind of,
at least for me, happens right like the other side
of it happens all the time.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
What if this doesn't go well? What if I fail read?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That's natural, That's where my brain naturally gravitates. And it
takes a lot of practice, yeah, to get yourself into
that other headspace of just saying like, let me create
space for the other side of this. Let me focus
on the way that I'm talking to myself about myself
to open up those possibilities and the belief in those possibilities.
(29:01):
So it is something that I work at and just
noticing the way that I'm talking to myself every day
and now as I think ahead, it really has helped me.
I think I've always been someone who sets big, bold
goals and knows that sometimes I'm not going to get them.
No one likes not getting them, but also teaches me
I'll get back up and work again. But I think
as I look ahead to LA twenty twenty eight with
(29:22):
the home games, as I look ahead to growing my nonprofit,
continuing to have as much impact as I can there,
as I think ahead to how much healing I am
finding in the advocacy work and in the representation through
things like Sports Illustrated swimsuit or a Nike sponsorship, those
are goals for me is to continue really doing everything
I can to use any attention my story's getting the
(29:45):
journey that I've had to continue spreading, hope, to continue representing,
to continue advocating.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Yeah, how does a muscle strengthen You give it something
to push up against? How does your will strengthen? You
give it something to push up against? And that isn't
something that you are alone in. I'm in the same place.
I don't want to throw out an incorrect statistic, but
it's upward of eighty percent of the thoughts that we
have every day are negative and it's up to us
(30:14):
and an opportunity for each of us to work on
strengthening that resiliency muscle.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
But it's not easy. Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
It's not easy at all that you threw out Nike,
you threw out Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
I want to start with Nike.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Where were you when you got the call that this
was even a conversation that they were interested in having,
that you could be a Nike athlete.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I was at home, which was really fun because I
got to run straight to my mom and like freak out.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
I think it was an email or a call call okay,
And I mean, like I.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Feel like so much of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
I'm like, I didn't even dream that, like think of
this as a dream because I didn't even think it
was possible for myself. So I think that was really
really cool and exciting. And also just as I mentioned,
like the representation I think coming into the amputee community,
coming into the Paralympic community, I want to do everything
I can to continue everyone else's efforts, right, Like I
(31:13):
stand on the shoulders of giants who have paved the
way for so many of us, and there's so much
room to still grow to increase that representation, and it matters.
And so I think that was such an exciting thing
of like, if I could be a Paralympian sponsored by Nike,
that is just sending a huge message to continue adding
to their insane roster of incredible athletes.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, I mean standing on the shoulders of giants, I
don't need to talk to you about Jessica Long. And
then as a Nike athlete Scout Bassett, have you had
the opportunity and interact with Scout?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yes, Oh yeah, she's a jem amazing, amazing, Yeah, such
a gem.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
So then to double click on Sports Illustrated, talk to
me about where you were when you got the Sports
Illustrated call, and then talk to me about how it
felt to pose for Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
When I out the.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Sports Illustrated call, I was coming back. I had come
back from I think I had come back from the Paralympics,
and I actually had like a vacation planned with my mom.
So I was like, okay, well I'm be in Italy
the week before. But I was again like freaking Now.
I think being in a bathing suit is more comfortable
(32:20):
for me as a lifelong swimmer than probably most I
don't know, but I'm pretty comfortable in a swimsuit.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
But what was.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
A completely new thing was being in a bathing suit
in a prosthetic leg. Yeah, and that would be you know,
a little over a year out from the attack and amputation,
and I started in a place where I asked my
parents to give away all my short dresses and short
skirts and said, I'm never going to wear anything short again.
I don't want my prosthetic leg to be seen. So
now a year later, to be in a tiny bikini
(32:52):
posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in my prosthetic leg, that
was really anxiety inducing, just that exposure for myself and
to was something new and something that had been challenged
during my recovery, and so I was definitely nervous. I
also had not done modeling, so I didn't have too
much information on that.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
But I was also like, this is the coolest.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Thing one to show myself, like the growth that I've had,
and I think the Paralympics really expedited my recovery and
helped me get to a different place of self acceptance.
And then to kind of cap that off with rece Illustrated,
to show myself that journey, but also again like to
represent I think now after being in that issue and
(33:36):
then also getting to walk in Miami Swim Week, the
dms and messages that I get from mothers and from
the women and girls themselves of what it meant to
open the magazine and see someone in a prosthetic or
to watch me walk the runway was something I wasn't anticipating,
you know, I was hopeful that it would help increase
that representation. I believed it mattered. But to get that feedback,
(33:56):
You're like, one, I'm so thankful that I could do
this and represent in that way, and that's something that
is such a gift and so exciting.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
But two, like, so thankful to sports illustrateds, some.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Suit and others like them who prioritize not only recognize
the importance of it, but then put the action behind
it and prioritize you know, that inclusivity and that representation too.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
What I'm hearing you say is that the opportunity once
again showed you that you are maybe stronger than you think.
It gave you that chance to show up in a
way that, yes, was uncomfortable and also was an opportunity.
You mentioned walking on the runway. Talk to me about
walking on the runway. I like, yeah, walk in a
straight line if you beat me.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Yeah, no, truly, I was like, all my prosthetic it
floats on a pool like the runway, So I was like,
this is way out of my comfort zone. But also
like the coolest and most exciting thing, and the whole
team there is incredible, Like they're all just they make
you feel so confident and so comfortable.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
And that was at my shoot and that was on
the runway, so that really really helped.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
I was like in the fitting also, the fitting is
like you walk in there's just like a rainbow collection
of all these suits and it's like, so fun.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Do you get do you for the record? Do you
get to pick the one that you want to wear?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
So in the shoots, you wear multiple They have stylists
who are amazing who pick out ones that they think
would look good on you, but you're allowed to like
you tried those on in your fitting, but you also
can look across. Yeah, so wow, you do get like
to see what you feel best in. But it was
so fun to meet so many other girls to walk to.
My family came, my best friend came, And it was
(35:33):
on the two year mark of my amputation, which happened
on my twenty third birthday. So then on my twenty
fifth birthday to be walking the runway in Miami where
I was saved, just again such a full circle moment
to kind of take that day back for myself of like, yeah,
it was a really traumatic and hard day that changed
my life forever. But also now two years later, like
(35:54):
I'm representing walking a runway, like it was such a
message there that felt really cool and it was really
fun and I was really nervous, and then you get
out there and you have a lot of fun and
I think it's been cool. I had it walking down
the shops we say opening ceremonies, and then again on
that runway, these moments where I'm like flashing back to
learning to walk and feeling like that was such a
(36:15):
challenge to overcome, and feeling all the fear and the
pain and the worry and the doubt that went into
those first steps to then like kind of be like okay,
a year and two years later, these are where I'm
walking like was a really really cool thing.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Also, so many people make an effort to be comfortable
(36:52):
after trauma, right, and you chose a high performance sport.
So what what would you say is the value in
intentionally seeking out discomfort as a way to process, as
a way to build this resilience. You're not just swimming,
(37:13):
You're running a marathon, you're doing sports illustrated simsuit, you're
shooting your first Nike campaign.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
This is a lot to handle for anyone.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Nevertheless, someone who is actively every day waking up and
choosing to move through their trauma.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
I guess I never have really thought about like intentionally
seeking discomfort. But I think I have always enjoyed being busy.
I have always enjoyed pushing myself to see what's possible.
I love the feeling of like going to some practice
and working really hard and leaving and being like I'm
drying to I have nothing left. Like, I enjoy that.
(37:53):
I find so much strength in it. I find confidence
in it, I find power in it. And I think
coming out of the attack, it was a way to
show myself like you still have that that is still
a possibility for you in a moment and a season
of so much doubt and fear about my future, to
be able to make those choices to say, like, these
are things you love that you can get back to
(38:13):
and are getting back to, I think was more where
my head was at. But I do think you know,
every choice you make that puts you in an uncomfortable
position is something that you're getting through, that you're overcoming.
That's a small success that or a big one that
builds right, that gives you the confidence to say, Okay,
I faced something really hard and I got back up
or I got through it, you know.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Coupled with that, there.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Is I had this concept I feel like maybe before
the attack, that I needed to wait until everything was
like healed and good to then kind of like move
on and help someone else or whatever that looks like,
get back up and try again. And I think these
past few years has been a learning for me of
like I can do all of that in the mess
(38:56):
of whatever's happening right now, Like while I'm healing, while
I'm learning, will I'm growing, I can give to others.
I can push my body and achieve more than I
thought possible. And So I think that as I think
about like intentionally seeking discomfort, I don't know that that's
how my mind thinks about it, but I think the
approach of like my life at times is uncomfortable and
(39:16):
new and hard, and it's this place that's giving me
kind of that confidence, that resilience, that belief that hope
through kind of those opportunities, or through pushing myself and
swimming or the marathon or whatever.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
That may be. You're twenty five, you're living in New
York City.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
The things I was doing at twenty five when I
was living in New York City are very different than the.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Things that you may be doing.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Do you feel as though you get to be a
twenty five year old girl living in New York City
and doing all the things I do?
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I think it's so fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
My brothers live like three blocks away from me, which
is really nice of them, two of them, yeah, one
of them still in college, but that's super fun and special.
And then there's just so many of my friends in
New York City that I think that's so fun, Especially
coming out of college where you're like literally two minutes
from everyone, it's nice to be able to see so
many people.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
And growing up in Connecticut, you always envisioned that you'd
moved to New York after college.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I didn't really have a plan. I grew up in Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
I always in really, yes, I always thought that I'd
moved to New York after college. It was like New
York or Boston, and New York's just so much cooler
and no offense anyone that was But yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Yeah, I think I in college kind of thought that
was where I wanted to go next, and just with
work and everything, that's where I ended up going. And
it's so fun. There's so much to do in New York.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
It's nice.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
It definitely like takes thought, yeah, right, amidst being busy
with a lot of different things. But I think that's
everyone's life. Like you do prioritize family time, you do
prioritize friend time. I know for me that like being
able to do those fun twenty five year old things
in New York City is something that feeds me, that
relaxes me, that enables me to go be the best athlete.
I can be, advocate, I can be speak or whatever
(40:52):
that is. Yeah, it's important to have that time. So
I do think I've gotten it, but it takes thought
and effort and making it a priority to so.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Coming hand in hand with being a twenty five in
New York City is meeting a lot of people, right,
some of my closest friends now I've met in this
chapter of my life, and you know, I've been in
New York for fifteen years. But getting to know them,
is there this added layer that you bring when you
tell them about your experience and being an amputee, does
that bring up feelings for you.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
It doesn't bring up feelings in terms of like my
own how I feel about saying I'm an amputee or
kind of saying a shark attack, but it is something
that like, especially at the beginning, I was really nervous.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Yeah, for I think it was a cool.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Thing to learn that, like, and obviously like there's your
one offs that don't call it this way, But for
the most part, it was built up in my head
to be something bigger than it was, and the message
that I've learned overall, Like I was even scared for
my friends to see me crouching on one foot or
in a prosthetic and in your head, you you, I
(41:59):
built it up to be this big thing, and in reality,
what I learned was like my friend's family love me
for my heart and my mind and who I am
and how I go through this world and not my
left foot. Yeah, and it took time to learn that
they taught me that, but it has helped as I
make new friends and meet new people.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
I mean, it's not something that I like upfront say like, Hi,
I'm an amputee, like that's a part of who I am,
but it's right like or all of me. But I
think it's helped me feel less nervous, less scared about
a response to kind of share in that way, because
I'm like, okay, but there's so much else about me
that would make someone, you know, if they wanted to
(42:40):
be my friend, that they would look for that's not
just like is she an amputee or not? Because I
think that's what it really was grounded in. Was for
some reason in my head, how big it felt. And
now you're like, I'm an amputee and you wear glasses
and you right, like everyone has something different that that
it felt less scary to kind of introduce.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
You mentioned unless there's a one off. Do you expects
a lot of one off? So I would hope not
like people like being rude or no good. Yeah, yeah,
I hope not like that. Oh people, because people can.
I mean I feel like probably more so on the internet,
when people don't have to show your face to the
it's a bad place. It's a very bad place. It's
(43:17):
a very bad place. As we start to wind down
here right now, someone goes to your Instagram page and
they see this Paralympic medalist, they see an advocate, someone
who really wants to show people that they too can
be strong. When you look in the mirror, though, Alli,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
Speaker 1 (43:39):
When I look in the mirror, I see someone who
has worked to find hope enjoy after hardship. I see
someone who has put in so much work to make
lemons out of lemonade and work to give herself grace.
Is she navigates a really bumpy of recovery.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Yeah, and on that road to recovery, what would you
say right now you're most excited about.
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Did I read that you're going to go to business school?
I am going to business school. Talk to me about that.
I'm really excited for it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I applied my senior spring for like a deferred enrollment
and an interviewed actually right after the attack, and then
I will be starting next fall in business school. I'm
really excited. I think you know, who knows where I
pivot to after that. But even as for the nonprofit,
as a founder and someone running the nonprofit, I think
(44:34):
it's going to be really invaluable to get a lot
of those skills, you know, coming from a liberal arts college,
especially to get a lot of those business skills. I'm
excited for and I love school, so I'm actually super
stoked to go back to like classes learning.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
I love to go back to classes to learning. And
this is like a year and a half. I'm like
doing the math and I head like a year and
a half, two years out from LA twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
Yeah, so I will graduate and then a month later
I will have Paralympic try for early twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
No big deal.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Shuffling and balancing, absolutely nothing. But again, it seems like
that's the kind of environment that you thrive on. It
feels good to me. The last thing I want to
touch on here again is your support system. I do
think that it is such a beautiful thing, as you
talked about at the beginning of this, the opportunity to
really lean into your relationships.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
They've showed up for you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
When you think about your relationships, talk to me a
little bit about what they mean to you.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
When I think about my relationships, I'm filled with like
overwhelming gratitude. I feel like I am just so lucky
for the most incredible, incredible support system. It's really taught
me who I want to be to other people, how
I want to show up for others. The power of
the ways that they have time and time again showed
(45:53):
up for me in the small moments, in the big
moments is irreplaceable and is such a lesson to me
about what that holds, that does, what a difference maker
it is. And actually for me, it's so exciting to
be like, we all have the power to do that, right,
Like the support we can give to someone else is
such a game changer, and we control that.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
I think that's so cool.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
But honestly, like so many friends and family, I'm just
incredibly lucky to have. And truly, when I think about
what took me from like the lowest low in my
life to the podium at the Paralympics to crossing the
marathon finish line, Yes, there was a lot of internal
strength and work that I put in, but the support
around me. Every time my confidence faltered, which happens, they
(46:34):
were there to pick it right back up and to
be hand in hand going with me forward. And I
think or sitting and crying on a couch right like
wherever I was, they were meeting me and.
Speaker 3 (46:43):
Helping me reset.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
And it's something that like for me, when I think
about the biggest blessings in my life.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
I'm like, my friends and family are at the top
of that list.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
Community really is so important, and like I think about
my journey as a testament to the power of community
and support.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
I think you highlighted something that's very important, which is
it could be like talking me through something, or it
could be literally sitting on the couch next to me
and crying. You must have learned so much about the
different shapes that support and friendship and relationships can take.
And it's hard because you also have to balance and
(47:21):
deal with how people want to show up for you
versus what you really need.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Yeah, what I've learned, I would say two things. The
first thing is like, even if people are showing up
maybe in a way that's different than what you need,
at the bottom of that is someone who's.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
There for you, trying to support you. That's very much.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
So.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Yes, maybe they phrase.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Something the way you didn't like, maybe they did something
that you found something else might have been more helpful,
and you can definitely communicate some of that. But like
for me, I'm looking at that and I'm like, that's
someone who has given up their time, their energy, their effort,
their thought to be there and support me. Whether it
was in the perfect way or not. But also coupled
with that, I think what I've realized is before these
(48:00):
two years, as someone who was typically on the other side,
like obviously, there were moments where I supporter, Yes, the supporter.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
It's so easy to.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
Worry am I giving the right form of support? Do
they want a text? And I called is it too
late right now? Like I didn't support in time? Is
it too small? Like there's so many things you worry
about when you're supporting someone in the shapes and forms
that you're supporting them, and being on the other side now,
I'm like, I just kind of believe there really is
no wrong form of support, Like whatever you have to give,
(48:29):
whenever you have to give, it matters and moves the
person forward. Obviously we have those worries, but I think
for me, it's like I'm hopeful that that doesn't stop
me from offering what I do have because at the
bottom of it, like I said, is someone showing up
for you to give what they have to help you?
Speaker 3 (48:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Man, Again, there are so many things that if I
had these perspectives, these insights at twenty five, I wonder
who I'd be now. But that in particular, I think
is just such a beautiful and important takeaway and something
that a lot of people struggle with, so really beautiful
to shine a light on it. Right now, Ali, before
you leave, you have the opportunity to offer yourself a
(49:10):
piece of advice. I want to bring you back to
when you know, walking was questionable, getting in the water
was definitely questionable. You had so much fear surrounding some
of the things that at one point, in your words,
you maybe even took for granted. Right knowing what you
know now, what advice would you offer yourself in the
post shark attack hurdle moment?
Speaker 1 (49:34):
I mean, I'm still learning, you know, I'm two years
into being an amputee, But I think I would say,
you know, to anyone, including myself, facing hardship, trauma, challenge,
that you will overcome what you're facing, even though it
might feel like you won't. We are stronger than we think,
we have more in us, and you can go through
(49:55):
the icans and the I won't send I'll never, but
just know that you can and you will. There is
a beautiful future ahead. And I would probably also add,
as you mentioned, you know, especially in those early weeks
and months post the shark attack, so really really emotional time,
and for me, what was so helpful was to remind myself,
(50:18):
or to get the reminder that our fears and our
feelings are not facts.
Speaker 2 (50:25):
That is, everything so much happens in your mind, so
much in the day to day. We talked about the
majority of those negative thoughts right that we experience on
the regular. Being able to distinguish what you just said
is something that is such a game changer for so
(50:46):
many yourself myself included Ali Truett. For those that aren't
following along with you just yet, give us the details.
How do we keep up with you on the socials?
Speaker 1 (50:54):
I'm on Instagram at at Ali Truett, and my nonprofit
is on Instagram at at Stronger Than You Think.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
Beautiful, I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcast
Another Hurdle Conquered.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
Catch you guys next time.
The message that we're stronger than we think is for everyone, right,
Like we all go through hard times in trauma and hardship,
and I think that message that you have more in
you is something that I hope everyone sees in our
community and feels for themselves too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, Hey, Emily Abodi. Here you are listening to another
episode of Hurdle, a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and
true stories of the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,
empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life
and of course, conquer your own hurdles. This week, I
(00:49):
am sitting down with Ali Truett. She's a two time
Paralympic silver medallist and sharp attack survivor who's turned a
senseless tragedy into a powerful mission a hope. Shortly after
graduating up from Yale, where she was a competitive swimmer,
Ali's life changed forever when she was attacked by a
(01:09):
shark on vacation. Thanks to her own incredible strength and
the quick actions of her friends, one of whom applied
a life saving tourniquet, Ali survived, though she lost her
lower leg in the attack. In the episode today, Ali
shares her remarkable journey of recovery, from the early days
of facing a fear of the water to becoming an
(01:30):
American record holder and meddling at the Paris Paralympics. We
discuss everything from the power of community and how her
support system, including her parents and teammates, helped her navigate
the lowest lows, to mindset shifts, and her stronger than
You Think philosophy, the origins of her nonprofit and documentary,
(01:50):
both dedicated to helping others find their inner strength. Make
sure you're following along with Hurdle over on social It's
at Hurdle podcast. You can also check out Iheartwoman's Sports
over at Iheartwoman's Sports and me over at Emily a Body.
Listen to Hurdle with Emily a Body on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And with that,
(02:12):
let's get to it. Let's get to hurdle it. Today,
I am sitting down with Ali Truitt. She's a two
time Paralympic silver medalist. She's also a shark attack survivor
founder of a non prophet that we'll talk about today.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Ali Truant, Welcome to Hurdle. How are you. Thank you,
I'm good. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I am very excited to get an update because when
we met it was just before you ran the New
York City Marathon.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Tell me how you're feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Oh my gosh, it was so fun. We had such
a fun time. And you know, I know a lot
of people talk about when it goes silent on the bridge,
like mile fifteen sixteen, and how that can feel hard. Yeah,
And I had read someone say like you said as
an opportunity to check in with your and I had
this moment where I was like, you just don't get
to run twenty six point two miles alongside fourteen or
(03:06):
fifteen friends and family like every mile the whole race.
And it was a cool moment in the middle of
the race to be like, what a gift to be
running this alongside so many friends and family doing it
step by step with them. So that was so special
to have my mom, my dad, so many friends. It
was so fun. And you know, you hear a lot
like the crowd carries you. I've been to cheer and
people say that, yeah, then to run it, you're like,
(03:28):
the crowd carries your is so helpful.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I was like this is so fun. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So for those that don't have context, you said running
alongside fourteen fifteen people, Yes, not everyone's typical marathon experience,
but a very special experience for you.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yes, it was so.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I ten days before I lost my lower leg in
a shark attack, I had run a marathon with my mom,
and so it was this goal kind of living in
the back of my mind. I think year one, I
felt like I wasn't going to be able to reclaim
and then it just felt really hard and painful. Your two,
I got access to a prosthetic running blade, and it
changed my mindset. So the goal creep back into my mind.
(04:08):
I decided I wanted to try to run the marathon,
and I did it alongside my mom and my dad
and then a lot of my friends, my cousin, my uncle.
Two of my friends were two college teammates who were
pivotal in saving my life.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
One of them was in the water with me during
the attack.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And to do that alongside so many people in your
life who truly have been there at the low points,
picked you up, been side by side with me this
whole recovery, It's something I'm going to look back on
for the rest of my life and be like, what
a treat to get to do that alongside them, and
for all of them to sacrifice, you know, their time
and their training to do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
It's not like you were just like, Hey, does everyone
want to meet up on this specific day to do dinner?
Because even that these days can be a challenge to
rally together totally a bunch of people at the same
time in the same place you recommended. No, we're all
going to do this extravagant emotional event together. Running a
marathon is such an emotional experience within itself. Give me
(05:08):
some insight into the feelings you experienced as you looked
around and saw your support system going with you step
by step.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think every time I think about it, I get
chills because it's one of those moments where you're like,
I can't believe that this is what's happening right now, that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
We're doing this.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Like to think back, you know, there were moments during
the race where I would think back to those moments
right after the attack where I was like, I'm never
gonna run again.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
I love running.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I just ran a marathon and it's never happening again.
And to be running and think back to that and
then kind of almost see my recovery and all the
people right next to me who had played such pivotal
roles throughout that whole thing to enable me to be
in a position where I was running a marathon. It's
just like the coolest, coolest thing, and especially you know,
cherishing getting to to have done one right before the
(05:57):
attack with my mom, lose my leg, and then run
another one with her on a prosthetic. I feel like
with such a full circle moment for us too. Yeah,
and you know, I know what I went through myself
was really hard and I can't imagine as a parent
how hard that was. So it felt like a really
special moment for us as well, that, you know, as
I was running alongside her, just reflecting, and of course
(06:18):
my dad too.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I think that's so special, also so special, so special.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
I'm like, I'm like, my eyes are wet just thinking
about the emotions that go with that. And to your point,
it's so beautiful to hear you say I can't imagine
what it must have felt like for my parents, despite
you also obviously going through.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Such a traumatic event.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
That shows compassion beyond I think anyone's years.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Really, you definitely think about I have an incredible support
system that I'm so grateful for. That is a big reason,
you know, I was so excited to get out there
and pass that support on and pay it forward. But
you definitely think about, or I do, the toll that
it takes on them to be that emotional support and
helped me through this. So I think it was a
(07:06):
great moment for all of us just to celebrate what
we had all overcome, my friends, my family, my whole community.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, and you mentioned two of your good friends, Sophie
and Hannah that ran the marathon with you. Sophie was
with you when you were attacked by the shark. For
those that are not familiar with your story, give us
a little bit of insight into what happened.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
On that day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So, two days after my college graduation a little bit
over two years ago, I was on a celebratory trip
with my friend Sophie, who was the captain of my
college swim team my freshman year, and we were snorkeling
in a very common shallow snorkeling reef. Seemingly out of nowhere,
a shark appeared and started attacking us. We fought back,
(07:53):
but pretty quickly it got my leg in its mouth,
and the next thing I knew, it had bitten off
my foot, part of my leg. I was bleeding out
in the water, and we screamed for help, but no
help came. So Sophie and I made this second decision
to swim for our lives back to the boat, which
(08:13):
was seventy five yards away in the open ocean, with
the shark chasing us.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
And I was footless.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
And bleeding, and immediately on the boat, Sophie as the
captain for a tourniquet and applied it to my leg
to save my life. And I will be forever indebted
to her. I am in awe of you know. It's
one thing to have that medical knowledge and the skill
to apply a tournique. It's another to do that after
(08:40):
having just been attacked yourself and staring at your footless,
bleeding best friend. It's beyond the level of knowing it
from a doctor's side, but also from someone who just
has unimaginable strength and selflessness and courage. And I just
look up to her in so many ways. So it
was again running alongside her, such a moment for us,
(09:00):
you know, She was the first person, along with the
first responder, who witnessed that doubt in me that I
was never going to be able to run again, and
so just so healing for us. And then I was
airlifted to a trauma hospital in Miami, and coincidentally, Sophie
and my friend Hannah, who was also on my college
swim team, was in medical school rotations at that exact
(09:22):
trauma hospital.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
That is beyond Yeah, like that to me is truly
call it fate. Maybe if you're a spiritual person, like
that is someone's looking out for you.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Yeah, that's what you know.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
It's easy to look at my journey and what happened
to me and kind of wallow in the negativity of
it and the y me and all the things that
went wrong for me, And I definitely fall into that
and have fallen into that. It's I would be lying
if I said I didn't have some of those thoughts.
But I work really hard to also recenter myself on
all the things that went right, all the things I'm
(09:58):
lucky for in that story that kept me alt I've
here today, And having Sophie and Hannah in those moments,
in those places is something that's like just the hugest
miracle that I really focused on in those early days
of grief and pain, to be like, how lucky am
I that they saved my life, that they were in
those places in those moments. So Hannah ran it with
(10:18):
us too, and that was so so fun, so special.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
They're incredible.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
They're both juggling medical school rotations and residency and amidst
all that training for a marathon.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So wow, it was awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, absolutely wild, that perspective of look at all that
went right when also simultaneously so much is going wrong.
Have you always been able to approach things in that
way or is that mindset shift something that you've had
to learn over time.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I think a lot of what's helped me through the
past two years recovering from a shark attack and an
amputation our habits that I have set in place my
whole life, And it's something I'm so grateful for because
you don't know when you're going to need to call
on them, and obviously it's never too late to start,
but to have that put in place of these are
habits I've practiced for years and years and years that
I'm now going to turn to was really helpful and
(11:11):
so growing up, my mom is a cognitive behavioral therapist,
and growing up she encouraged me and my three brothers.
It's natural to feel like you want to sit in
certain situations that go wrong and say why me? Why
did this happen to me? And she was like, if
you ask why me, do it? Ask it, but make
(11:32):
sure you're asking it in both directions.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
So why me? Why'd I get attacked by a shark?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Why did I lose my leg at twenty three years
old enough to be an amputee for the rest of
my life?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Why me? But also why me?
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Why did I get to stay calm and have the
inner strength and the swimming skill to save my life?
Why did I have friends and family who rallied behind
me like no other and showed up in unimaginable ways?
Why did I never get to worry about food on
the table?
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Right like a million? Why me?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
In the positive direction? And so that habit I think,
in that moment where it was so easy to sit
there and say why me? Was this this habit I
called on to say, let's also think about all the
things that went right for me.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
In that moment? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Wow, again, such a beautiful and impressive perspective, something that
so many can learn from. Now I know that you
are actively and very passionate about paying it forward. Now,
all of these difficult experiences that you've been through came
full circle for you to create your nonprofit. Talk to
(12:36):
me a little bit about your nonprofit and why it's
so important to you.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I think early on I knew that all the support
I was receiving was something I was so lucky for,
and it was a complete game changer for me, like
a total difference maker in my recovery, and I really
couldn't wait until I could pay it forward. I think
joining the amputee community, I was shocked at how expensive
prosthetics are, littles covered by insurance relative to what's needed,
(13:03):
you know, I was learning that prosthetics can range from
ten thousand dollars to over one hundred thousand dollars. It
felt like life as an amputee was hard enough as is,
that we shouldn't also have to be concerned with at
a ford a part of our body that we need
just to live. So I wanted to do something about it,
and I founded my nonprofit. Stronger than you think it
supports the three pillars I say that saved my life
(13:24):
and helped me rebuild it. So that's water safety, the
Paralympic movement, and funding for prosthetics for women and girls.
And it truly is just a hug to my heart
to be able to do this work. It's so healing
to say I can take this bad, senseless trauma that
happened to me and use it for good. And it's
been really exciting to have the impact that we've had
to date we've been able to give fifteen prosthetics, but
(13:46):
it's also very motivating to continue doing everything I can
to continue having impact there. And I think one of
my favorite things too is, you know, financially it's important
to have that impact and it's a focus of mine,
but so focused on the support and the community and
the friendship that's coming out of this nonprofit. And that's
(14:06):
with our recipients, and that's with our supporters and our followers,
and whether you fall into those three pillars or not,
the message that we're stronger than we think is for everyone, right,
Like we all go through hard times in trauma and hardship,
and I think that message that you have more in
you is something that I hope everyone sees in our
community and feels for themselves too.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Where did the name come from?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's honestly one of my biggest learnings from the two years.
We are so much stronger than we think. We have
way more in us than we might think we do. Yeah,
And I learned that for myself, Like, if you had
asked me out these two years were go. That was
never what I would have predicted. And you know, I
remember in I think I was in high school, I
heard David Goggins, you know, David gosh days. He had
(14:50):
said that we're all only operating at forty percent of
our human capacity, our potential. And I think when I
first heard that in high school or whatever it was,
I was like, oh, maybe, like you, I didn't totally
believe it. Yeah, And these past two years, I'm like,
he's right, Like, we have so much more in us.
We're just sitting on these wells of capacity, and if
we can open our minds to that and believe it
(15:11):
even just a little bit, we will surprise ourselves with
what we overcome, with what we can achieve physically.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So the name really is that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Big learning that I learned that I hope to spread
to everyone who learns my story or about the nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah, and it's also the name of your documentary.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I want to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
A bit about that experience from the get go. So
when did you solidify that this was a project that
you were going to work on.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So basically, the documentary, which is also called Starting Than
You Think, chronicles kind of my journey from shark attack
and amputation.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
To the Paris Paralympics a year later.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
So it is that first year of navigating life as
an amputee, adjusting learning, facing setbacks, and also at the
same time trying to get back in the water and
train for the parent Olympics. We worked with an all
female crew. They are incredible and just so amazing at
really hearing my goals in sharing my story and having
(16:10):
that come to life in this documentary. So I'm really excited.
It's been premiering in some film festivals, which has been
so fun. And to continue spreading that message of hope,
to shine a light on the Paralympic movement and the
fact that we can bounce back after life knocks us down,
it's really meaningful for me.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
How did it feel to go through the process of
having people join in so regularly to learn about you,
to learn about your story. Were there things that you
didn't expect, things that really brought you joy.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
When they come and film you definitely know those you
can't there, but you do. I've heard people say you
forget the cameras there and you kind of do, so
that part I had heard.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
And I didn't.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
I every time I hear that, I'm like, no, way,
like you see a camera there. But but I think
as especially just in such an emotional hard year, I
had so many things to focus on that I did
kind of sometimes forget that we are being filmed, and
and I think that's nice, because I really my goal was,
if I'm sharing my journey, I do want to make
sure I'm sharing those highs and the shiny fun moments
(17:30):
to show you know, what you can go back get
back to after such a dramatic or heart event, but
at the same time to show the low moments, to
be authentic about that journey. And if someone finds themselves
crying on a couch just like I did several times,
that doesn't rule out the possibility of making it to
the Paralympic podium. A few months later or whatever that
equivalent is for someone, and so.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So I'm grateful that that's how that played out.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I think it was you know, they were so great
to be around, so it really was fun and it
was such a cool moment just to shine a light
on so many things I was focused on. I think
in the day to day of the filming, that's not
necessarily what you're thinking about. You're just letting someone film
your life, and it was fun to kind of see
that process of how that all comes together and to
(18:14):
learn more. You know, you film for so many hours
and a lot of it gets cut, just the nature of.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It, and so that was cool to learn about too.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
You said that, you know, the last couple of years
involved a lot of things that you could have never anticipated.
There has to be also a grief that goes along
with that. There's this really beautiful opportunity and perspective that
you vocalize that you've been able to obtain, which is, wow,
look how beautiful this can be.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
And also you never thought you would be doing this.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Talk to me a little bit about what that grieving
process looks like for you.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I think grief is something that you know will live
with me forever. I don't think you grieve and you
heal and it's done. And I've learned that through this
traumatic event, and it's taught me to have grace with
myself to know that grief comes in waves and can
appear at the craziest times where you wouldn't even expect it.
(19:11):
The smallest things can kind of cause grief and bring
it back up, and so the grieving process for me
hasn't continues to be a bumpy road, and I think
just understanding that being a little bit softer with myself
and gentler of knowing that it can come at any time,
knowing that it's okay to grief and take that moment
(19:32):
and feel sad. Something for me that that doesn't really
work is just moving immediately into kind of the positive
reset a. I call it permission to feel, an intention
to reset. And so first for me, like grief, feel
feel sad, feel upset, let yourself think those thoughts, just
don't stay there, then press the reset button and get
(19:53):
back up. That's been really helpful for me. But there
have been so many moments where the smallest things even
like and I think it's important, right, Like I was
so proud, so excited to run a marathon on a
prosthetic blade. I can't believe that's what I just got
to do and what I was able to do. And
at the same time, there were several times in there
where I did grieve what it used to feel like
(20:14):
to run on two feet, how freeing it was, how
easy compared to running on a prosthetic blade it was.
You know, those challenges bring up that grief of like
what that used to feel like, And that happens all
the time. Yeah, so I think it's something that lives
with you forever. And at times it's tightened and at
times it's not. For me, it's really been learning, like
(20:36):
they go hand in hand. It's not just because you're
feeling one way you can't feel another. My mom calls
it holding the dialectic to two opposite feelings can be
true at the same time.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, a lot happening simultaneously. When was the last time
that it almost unexpectedly hit you? You said it can be
triggered by like very small all moments.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I've had so many, I think I don't know, I've
probably a recent one. I mean to be honest, like
sometimes even I'll be like scrolling Instagram and just even
like watching someone's like day in the life of like
getting to throw on their running sneakers and shorts and
go out, and then getting to throw on cute heels
and go out, and like watching that that's like no
longer how that looks like for me when it used
to be And I don't even know what was something
(21:22):
I was supposed to be grateful for, right like, oh,
just throwing on my shoes with something I was supposed
to be like, thank gosh, I can do this, And
now it's like I have to adjust a prosthetic ankle
to fit the arch height, right Like there's all these
things that I think. The other day, I was trying
to put on tights because it's cold out, and dressing
over a prosthetic leg is like have you ever put
clothes on a Barbie doll and it gets all stuck
(21:42):
on the like and getting frustrated there. Then I'm like
this used to never be something, and now for the
rest of my life, if I want to wear tights,
but I have to wrestle, and it seems so small, right, like, Okay,
don't wear tights, or take some time and put your
tights on. But but it brings up that larger feeling
of like life is different now.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, And that's not to say I'm gonna figure it out.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
I'm to learn it and and maybe that's kind of
a small problem relative and I'm alive and I'm so
lucky for that. But also I can grieve things that
used to be simple, things that used to be easy,
the way my life used to look. So so I
think even those small things you never expect, right, like
getting dressed to go out, and I'm yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Entirely understandable, Like as as someone that does have two legs,
I get frustrated putting on tights. I can't even I
cannot even imagine. It's such an understandable place to be
coming from. Now, you also in this the last two
years were nothing like I expected. I mean, you definitely
didn't think about becoming a Paralympian or an olympian when
(22:39):
you were graduating college. Talk to me about getting back
in the water. And when that transformed from I'm just
going to face this fear to I'm going to take
this to another level.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I think pretty early on in my recovery, I realized
that I was feeling fearful of the water, and the
water is something I have loved my whole life. I've
been a competitive swimmer to some degree since I was
seven years old. I find so much dooy and peace
in the water, and it's been a safe and happy
(23:12):
place for me forever. And after the attack, after being
conscious in the ocean for the attack, I was really
scared of the water and like I would go to
take a shower and the sound of the water would
trigger a flashback wow, and I felt really upset, Like
I was like, this is something I've loved forever that
now I've lost too. And I had this moment where
(23:34):
I was like, some things that I've lost here I'm
not getting back, Like I'm not getting my foot back,
but there are some things that I can fight to
get back. And if it's on the table for me
to fight for, I'm going to fight for it. And
I decided I was starting with the water, and I
got back in our backyard pool and I got back
in in with a floaty around my waist as a
(23:55):
Division one college swarmer, because we weren't sure, like physically
or emotionally, how I was going to respond, and it
was this really kind of like exposure therapy progression where
I put a toe in, then I put my ankle.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
It like kind of built up to it.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
But I think those early days were really working, like
you said, to face that fear, to show myself it
was something I could reclaim. I would get these like
moments where things felt good again in the water, and
I would cling to them and be like, if I
can just keep doing this.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It'll build, it'll grow.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
And I had actually had Noah Lambert, who's a Paralympic
check and feal.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
That's she's a hurdler too. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
She reached out about a month in to be supportive
and had said one thing she said to me, and
the call was considered the Paralympics, it's really healing you.
I think would really enjoy it, like just think about it.
And when I first heard her, I was like, Okay, no,
why they're in eleven months, Like there's no way a
month into a shark attack and amputation. So appreciated the
(24:50):
support and the call, but I was like that part,
like I'm just that's not going to be where I'm at.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And as I kind of kept swimming and did it
more and.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
More also for physical therapy because that was waiting for
a prosthetic leg. I started to have the idea creep
in like hey, what if I could do that? What
if I could pull that off? And that was really
exciting to me. I always have like what if I fail?
What if I don't do well? What if this goes wrong?
To have the like what if in nine months I
could train and qualify for TMUSA for the Paris Paralympics.
(25:19):
Was this like hugely positive, exciting what if that? I
was like, should I just lean into that and go
for it? And I think, you know, even though it
seemed like such a small chance and I knew it
was going to be pulling a rabbit out of a
hat to try to do it, the opportunity to represent
your country at that level like is so cool and
(25:39):
so special. So that's when I was like, Okay, I
think I'm going to go for it and start training.
And at that point I had nine months to really
get back and shape in the water and start getting
some cardio based back and then start learning how to
swim with one leg instead of two and swimming to
a level that would enable me to qualify.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Yeah, and I mean spoiler alert, we didn't just qualify,
then we meddled, and now you're an American record holder. Yes,
which is so special, all of it, not just taking
into account the mental gymnastics that had to go hand
in hand with getting back in the water, but to
now swim faster than you did when you had two legs.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
When I say that to you, how does it make
you feel? I feel really proud of that.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I know the work that it took to get there,
as you said, emotionally and physically. I think, you know,
it's a message to myself of what is possible for
me in this new body. I think at the start,
naturally you have a lot of fears, a lot of worries,
and to be in a place where I'm swimming faster
than I ever swam in certain events with two legs
is a message to myself of what is still possible,
(26:46):
and I hope it's a message to other people watching too.
I think, you know, a big goal for a lot
of Paralympians is changing the perception of disability that the
people hold, and I think being able to say that
with one leg I'm swimming faster at the Paralympics than
I did with two legs is hopefully spreading that message
and showing that. And you know, I talk a lot
(27:07):
about for me to make and metal at the Paralympics,
I needed to swim times that I had swum to
get recruited Division one to you with two legs, but
with one.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And it's really fast and competitive.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And I think that achievement for me of swimming even
faster was in line with what I had learned there
and that message too.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
I also really love the perspective of what if the
best thing happens, what if it's better than I imagined.
I texted a girlfriend earlier today and I said, what's
something that you want to happen by the end of
twenty twenty six that feels so much bigger than you?
(27:48):
And sometimes it is as simple as putting it out
into the universe and saying why not me? It is
just as likely that things can go better than you
expect than it is that they might not go well
at all. And we are constantly trapped in this grief
and shame spiral and this comparison moment right that we
(28:11):
don't allow ourselves the opportunity to dream. So when you
think now about what if it's even better than I anticipated?
And you think forward what comes to mind for you?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
You know, I think also, just like on what you
just said, for me, it takes work to get yourself
to that other headspace. It's not just something that kind of,
at least for me, happens right like the other side
of it happens all the time.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
What if this doesn't go well? What if I fail read?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That's natural, That's where my brain naturally gravitates. And it
takes a lot of practice, yeah, to get yourself into
that other headspace of just saying like, let me create
space for the other side of this. Let me focus
on the way that I'm talking to myself about myself
to open up those possibilities and the belief in those possibilities.
(29:01):
So it is something that I work at and just
noticing the way that I'm talking to myself every day
and now as I think ahead, it really has helped me.
I think I've always been someone who sets big, bold
goals and knows that sometimes I'm not going to get them.
No one likes not getting them, but also teaches me
I'll get back up and work again. But I think
as I look ahead to LA twenty twenty eight with
(29:22):
the home games, as I look ahead to growing my nonprofit,
continuing to have as much impact as I can there,
as I think ahead to how much healing I am
finding in the advocacy work and in the representation through
things like Sports Illustrated swimsuit or a Nike sponsorship, those
are goals for me is to continue really doing everything
I can to use any attention my story's getting the
(29:45):
journey that I've had to continue spreading, hope, to continue representing,
to continue advocating.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Yeah, how does a muscle strengthen You give it something
to push up against? How does your will strengthen? You
give it something to push up against? And that isn't
something that you are alone in. I'm in the same place.
I don't want to throw out an incorrect statistic, but
it's upward of eighty percent of the thoughts that we
have every day are negative and it's up to us
(30:14):
and an opportunity for each of us to work on
strengthening that resiliency muscle.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
But it's not easy. Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
It's not easy at all that you threw out Nike,
you threw out Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
I want to start with Nike.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Where were you when you got the call that this
was even a conversation that they were interested in having,
that you could be a Nike athlete.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I was at home, which was really fun because I
got to run straight to my mom and like freak out.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
I think it was an email or a call call okay,
And I mean, like I.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Feel like so much of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
I'm like, I didn't even dream that, like think of
this as a dream because I didn't even think it
was possible for myself. So I think that was really
really cool and exciting. And also just as I mentioned,
like the representation I think coming into the amputee community,
coming into the Paralympic community, I want to do everything
I can to continue everyone else's efforts, right, Like I
(31:13):
stand on the shoulders of giants who have paved the
way for so many of us, and there's so much
room to still grow to increase that representation, and it matters.
And so I think that was such an exciting thing
of like, if I could be a Paralympian sponsored by Nike,
that is just sending a huge message to continue adding
to their insane roster of incredible athletes.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, I mean standing on the shoulders of giants, I
don't need to talk to you about Jessica Long. And
then as a Nike athlete Scout Bassett, have you had
the opportunity and interact with Scout?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yes, Oh yeah, she's a jem amazing, amazing, Yeah, such
a gem.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
So then to double click on Sports Illustrated, talk to
me about where you were when you got the Sports
Illustrated call, and then talk to me about how it
felt to pose for Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
When I out the.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Sports Illustrated call, I was coming back. I had come
back from I think I had come back from the Paralympics,
and I actually had like a vacation planned with my mom.
So I was like, okay, well I'm be in Italy
the week before. But I was again like freaking Now.
I think being in a bathing suit is more comfortable
(32:20):
for me as a lifelong swimmer than probably most I
don't know, but I'm pretty comfortable in a swimsuit.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
But what was.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
A completely new thing was being in a bathing suit
in a prosthetic leg. Yeah, and that would be you know,
a little over a year out from the attack and amputation,
and I started in a place where I asked my
parents to give away all my short dresses and short
skirts and said, I'm never going to wear anything short again.
I don't want my prosthetic leg to be seen. So
now a year later, to be in a tiny bikini
(32:52):
posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in my prosthetic leg, that
was really anxiety inducing, just that exposure for myself and
to was something new and something that had been challenged
during my recovery, and so I was definitely nervous. I
also had not done modeling, so I didn't have too
much information on that.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
But I was also like, this is the coolest.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Thing one to show myself, like the growth that I've had,
and I think the Paralympics really expedited my recovery and
helped me get to a different place of self acceptance.
And then to kind of cap that off with rece Illustrated,
to show myself that journey, but also again like to
represent I think now after being in that issue and
(33:36):
then also getting to walk in Miami Swim Week, the
dms and messages that I get from mothers and from
the women and girls themselves of what it meant to
open the magazine and see someone in a prosthetic or
to watch me walk the runway was something I wasn't anticipating,
you know, I was hopeful that it would help increase
that representation. I believed it mattered. But to get that feedback,
(33:56):
You're like, one, I'm so thankful that I could do
this and represent in that way, and that's something that
is such a gift and so exciting.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
But two, like, so thankful to sports illustrateds, some.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Suit and others like them who prioritize not only recognize
the importance of it, but then put the action behind
it and prioritize you know, that inclusivity and that representation too.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
What I'm hearing you say is that the opportunity once
again showed you that you are maybe stronger than you think.
It gave you that chance to show up in a
way that, yes, was uncomfortable and also was an opportunity.
You mentioned walking on the runway. Talk to me about
walking on the runway. I like, yeah, walk in a
straight line if you beat me.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Yeah, no, truly, I was like, all my prosthetic it
floats on a pool like the runway, So I was like,
this is way out of my comfort zone. But also
like the coolest and most exciting thing, and the whole
team there is incredible, Like they're all just they make
you feel so confident and so comfortable.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
And that was at my shoot and that was on
the runway, so that really really helped.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
I was like in the fitting also, the fitting is
like you walk in there's just like a rainbow collection
of all these suits and it's like, so fun.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Do you get do you for the record? Do you
get to pick the one that you want to wear?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
So in the shoots, you wear multiple They have stylists
who are amazing who pick out ones that they think
would look good on you, but you're allowed to like
you tried those on in your fitting, but you also
can look across. Yeah, so wow, you do get like
to see what you feel best in. But it was
so fun to meet so many other girls to walk to.
My family came, my best friend came, And it was
(35:33):
on the two year mark of my amputation, which happened
on my twenty third birthday. So then on my twenty
fifth birthday to be walking the runway in Miami where
I was saved, just again such a full circle moment
to kind of take that day back for myself of like, yeah,
it was a really traumatic and hard day that changed
my life forever. But also now two years later, like
(35:54):
I'm representing walking a runway, like it was such a
message there that felt really cool and it was really
fun and I was really nervous, and then you get
out there and you have a lot of fun and
I think it's been cool. I had it walking down
the shops we say opening ceremonies, and then again on
that runway, these moments where I'm like flashing back to
learning to walk and feeling like that was such a
(36:15):
challenge to overcome, and feeling all the fear and the
pain and the worry and the doubt that went into
those first steps to then like kind of be like okay,
a year and two years later, these are where I'm
walking like was a really really cool thing.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Also, so many people make an effort to be comfortable
(36:52):
after trauma, right, and you chose a high performance sport.
So what what would you say is the value in
intentionally seeking out discomfort as a way to process, as
a way to build this resilience. You're not just swimming,
(37:13):
You're running a marathon, you're doing sports illustrated simsuit, you're
shooting your first Nike campaign.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
This is a lot to handle for anyone.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Nevertheless, someone who is actively every day waking up and
choosing to move through their trauma.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
I guess I never have really thought about like intentionally
seeking discomfort. But I think I have always enjoyed being busy.
I have always enjoyed pushing myself to see what's possible.
I love the feeling of like going to some practice
and working really hard and leaving and being like I'm
drying to I have nothing left. Like, I enjoy that.
(37:53):
I find so much strength in it. I find confidence
in it, I find power in it. And I think
coming out of the attack, it was a way to
show myself like you still have that that is still
a possibility for you in a moment and a season
of so much doubt and fear about my future, to
be able to make those choices to say, like, these
are things you love that you can get back to
(38:13):
and are getting back to, I think was more where
my head was at. But I do think you know,
every choice you make that puts you in an uncomfortable
position is something that you're getting through, that you're overcoming.
That's a small success that or a big one that
builds right, that gives you the confidence to say, Okay,
I faced something really hard and I got back up
or I got through it, you know.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Coupled with that, there.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Is I had this concept I feel like maybe before
the attack, that I needed to wait until everything was
like healed and good to then kind of like move
on and help someone else or whatever that looks like,
get back up and try again. And I think these
past few years has been a learning for me of
like I can do all of that in the mess
(38:56):
of whatever's happening right now, Like while I'm healing, while
I'm learning, will I'm growing, I can give to others.
I can push my body and achieve more than I
thought possible. And So I think that as I think
about like intentionally seeking discomfort, I don't know that that's
how my mind thinks about it, but I think the
approach of like my life at times is uncomfortable and
(39:16):
new and hard, and it's this place that's giving me
kind of that confidence, that resilience, that belief that hope
through kind of those opportunities, or through pushing myself and
swimming or the marathon or whatever.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
That may be. You're twenty five, you're living in New
York City.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
The things I was doing at twenty five when I
was living in New York City are very different than the.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Things that you may be doing.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Do you feel as though you get to be a
twenty five year old girl living in New York City
and doing all the things I do?
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I think it's so fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
My brothers live like three blocks away from me, which
is really nice of them, two of them, yeah, one
of them still in college, but that's super fun and special.
And then there's just so many of my friends in
New York City that I think that's so fun, Especially
coming out of college where you're like literally two minutes
from everyone, it's nice to be able to see so
many people.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
And growing up in Connecticut, you always envisioned that you'd
moved to New York after college.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I didn't really have a plan. I grew up in Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
I always in really, yes, I always thought that I'd
moved to New York after college. It was like New
York or Boston, and New York's just so much cooler
and no offense anyone that was But yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Yeah, I think I in college kind of thought that
was where I wanted to go next, and just with
work and everything, that's where I ended up going. And
it's so fun. There's so much to do in New York.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
It's nice.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
It definitely like takes thought, yeah, right, amidst being busy
with a lot of different things. But I think that's
everyone's life. Like you do prioritize family time, you do
prioritize friend time. I know for me that like being
able to do those fun twenty five year old things
in New York City is something that feeds me, that
relaxes me, that enables me to go be the best athlete.
I can be, advocate, I can be speak or whatever
(40:52):
that is. Yeah, it's important to have that time. So
I do think I've gotten it, but it takes thought
and effort and making it a priority to so.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Coming hand in hand with being a twenty five in
New York City is meeting a lot of people, right,
some of my closest friends now I've met in this
chapter of my life, and you know, I've been in
New York for fifteen years. But getting to know them,
is there this added layer that you bring when you
tell them about your experience and being an amputee, does
that bring up feelings for you.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
It doesn't bring up feelings in terms of like my
own how I feel about saying I'm an amputee or
kind of saying a shark attack, but it is something
that like, especially at the beginning, I was really nervous.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Yeah, for I think it was a cool.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Thing to learn that, like, and obviously like there's your
one offs that don't call it this way, But for
the most part, it was built up in my head
to be something bigger than it was, and the message
that I've learned overall, Like I was even scared for
my friends to see me crouching on one foot or
in a prosthetic and in your head, you you, I
(41:59):
built it up to be this big thing, and in reality,
what I learned was like my friend's family love me
for my heart and my mind and who I am
and how I go through this world and not my
left foot. Yeah, and it took time to learn that
they taught me that, but it has helped as I
make new friends and meet new people.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
I mean, it's not something that I like upfront say like, Hi,
I'm an amputee, like that's a part of who I am,
but it's right like or all of me. But I
think it's helped me feel less nervous, less scared about
a response to kind of share in that way, because
I'm like, okay, but there's so much else about me
that would make someone, you know, if they wanted to
(42:40):
be my friend, that they would look for that's not
just like is she an amputee or not? Because I
think that's what it really was grounded in. Was for
some reason in my head, how big it felt. And
now you're like, I'm an amputee and you wear glasses
and you right, like everyone has something different that that
it felt less scary to kind of introduce.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
You mentioned unless there's a one off. Do you expects
a lot of one off? So I would hope not
like people like being rude or no good. Yeah, yeah,
I hope not like that. Oh people, because people can.
I mean I feel like probably more so on the internet,
when people don't have to show your face to the
it's a bad place. It's a very bad place. It's
(43:17):
a very bad place. As we start to wind down
here right now, someone goes to your Instagram page and
they see this Paralympic medalist, they see an advocate, someone
who really wants to show people that they too can
be strong. When you look in the mirror, though, Alli,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
Speaker 1 (43:39):
When I look in the mirror, I see someone who
has worked to find hope enjoy after hardship. I see
someone who has put in so much work to make
lemons out of lemonade and work to give herself grace.
Is she navigates a really bumpy of recovery.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Yeah, and on that road to recovery, what would you
say right now you're most excited about.
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Did I read that you're going to go to business school?
I am going to business school. Talk to me about that.
I'm really excited for it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I applied my senior spring for like a deferred enrollment
and an interviewed actually right after the attack, and then
I will be starting next fall in business school. I'm
really excited. I think you know, who knows where I
pivot to after that. But even as for the nonprofit,
as a founder and someone running the nonprofit, I think
(44:34):
it's going to be really invaluable to get a lot
of those skills, you know, coming from a liberal arts college,
especially to get a lot of those business skills. I'm
excited for and I love school, so I'm actually super
stoked to go back to like classes learning.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
I love to go back to classes to learning. And
this is like a year and a half. I'm like
doing the math and I head like a year and
a half, two years out from LA twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
Yeah, so I will graduate and then a month later
I will have Paralympic try for early twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
No big deal.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Shuffling and balancing, absolutely nothing. But again, it seems like
that's the kind of environment that you thrive on. It
feels good to me. The last thing I want to
touch on here again is your support system. I do
think that it is such a beautiful thing, as you
talked about at the beginning of this, the opportunity to
really lean into your relationships.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
They've showed up for you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
When you think about your relationships, talk to me a
little bit about what they mean to you.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
When I think about my relationships, I'm filled with like
overwhelming gratitude. I feel like I am just so lucky
for the most incredible, incredible support system. It's really taught
me who I want to be to other people, how
I want to show up for others. The power of
the ways that they have time and time again showed
(45:53):
up for me in the small moments, in the big
moments is irreplaceable and is such a lesson to me
about what that holds, that does, what a difference maker
it is. And actually for me, it's so exciting to
be like, we all have the power to do that, right,
Like the support we can give to someone else is
such a game changer, and we control that.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
I think that's so cool.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
But honestly, like so many friends and family, I'm just
incredibly lucky to have. And truly, when I think about
what took me from like the lowest low in my
life to the podium at the Paralympics to crossing the
marathon finish line, Yes, there was a lot of internal
strength and work that I put in, but the support
around me. Every time my confidence faltered, which happens, they
(46:34):
were there to pick it right back up and to
be hand in hand going with me forward. And I
think or sitting and crying on a couch right like
wherever I was, they were meeting me and.
Speaker 3 (46:43):
Helping me reset.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
And it's something that like for me, when I think
about the biggest blessings in my life.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
I'm like, my friends and family are at the top
of that list.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
Community really is so important, and like I think about
my journey as a testament to the power of community
and support.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
I think you highlighted something that's very important, which is
it could be like talking me through something, or it
could be literally sitting on the couch next to me
and crying. You must have learned so much about the
different shapes that support and friendship and relationships can take.
And it's hard because you also have to balance and
(47:21):
deal with how people want to show up for you
versus what you really need.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Yeah, what I've learned, I would say two things. The
first thing is like, even if people are showing up
maybe in a way that's different than what you need,
at the bottom of that is someone who's.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
There for you, trying to support you. That's very much.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
So.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Yes, maybe they phrase.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Something the way you didn't like, maybe they did something
that you found something else might have been more helpful,
and you can definitely communicate some of that. But like
for me, I'm looking at that and I'm like, that's
someone who has given up their time, their energy, their effort,
their thought to be there and support me. Whether it
was in the perfect way or not. But also coupled
with that, I think what I've realized is before these
(48:00):
two years, as someone who was typically on the other side,
like obviously, there were moments where I supporter, Yes, the supporter.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
It's so easy to.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
Worry am I giving the right form of support? Do
they want a text? And I called is it too
late right now? Like I didn't support in time? Is
it too small? Like there's so many things you worry
about when you're supporting someone in the shapes and forms
that you're supporting them, and being on the other side now,
I'm like, I just kind of believe there really is
no wrong form of support, Like whatever you have to give,
(48:29):
whenever you have to give, it matters and moves the
person forward. Obviously we have those worries, but I think
for me, it's like I'm hopeful that that doesn't stop
me from offering what I do have because at the
bottom of it, like I said, is someone showing up
for you to give what they have to help you?
Speaker 3 (48:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Man, Again, there are so many things that if I
had these perspectives, these insights at twenty five, I wonder
who I'd be now. But that in particular, I think
is just such a beautiful and important takeaway and something
that a lot of people struggle with, so really beautiful
to shine a light on it. Right now, Ali, before
you leave, you have the opportunity to offer yourself a
(49:10):
piece of advice. I want to bring you back to
when you know, walking was questionable, getting in the water
was definitely questionable. You had so much fear surrounding some
of the things that at one point, in your words,
you maybe even took for granted. Right knowing what you
know now, what advice would you offer yourself in the
post shark attack hurdle moment?
Speaker 1 (49:34):
I mean, I'm still learning, you know, I'm two years
into being an amputee, But I think I would say,
you know, to anyone, including myself, facing hardship, trauma, challenge,
that you will overcome what you're facing, even though it
might feel like you won't. We are stronger than we think,
we have more in us, and you can go through
(49:55):
the icans and the I won't send I'll never, but
just know that you can and you will. There is
a beautiful future ahead. And I would probably also add,
as you mentioned, you know, especially in those early weeks
and months post the shark attack, so really really emotional time,
and for me, what was so helpful was to remind myself,
(50:18):
or to get the reminder that our fears and our
feelings are not facts.
Speaker 2 (50:25):
That is, everything so much happens in your mind, so
much in the day to day. We talked about the
majority of those negative thoughts right that we experience on
the regular. Being able to distinguish what you just said
is something that is such a game changer for so
(50:46):
many yourself myself included Ali Truett. For those that aren't
following along with you just yet, give us the details.
How do we keep up with you on the socials?
Speaker 1 (50:54):
I'm on Instagram at at Ali Truett, and my nonprofit
is on Instagram at at Stronger Than You Think.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
Beautiful, I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcast
Another Hurdle Conquered.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
Catch you guys next time.
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