Ali Truwit on Full Circle Paralympics Experience — and Winning Silver — One Year After Shark Attack (Exclusive)

The swimmer, who won two silver medals at the Paralympic Games, tells PEOPLE that her journey has been "surreal"

Ali Truwit is reflecting on her "surreal" journey, one year after losing part of her leg in a shark attack.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the 24-year-old swimmer – who won two silver medals while setting U.S. records in the women's 400-meter freestyle S10 and the 100-meter backstroke S10 – is taking a moment to look back on her accomplishments.

“Representing my country was something that I was so excited about heading into the Paralympics,” she tells PEOPLE. “I think that is such a privilege and an honor, and I don't take it lightly, and to be able to come out of the meet with two American records just feels so special.”

On May 24, 2023, Truwit’s life changed forever. While she was on vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands with friends, including her former Yale swim team captain Sophie Pilkinton, a shark bit her, forcing the amputation of her foot and part of her lower leg.

A year later, Pilkinton, other friends and family members were in the stands cheering her on in Paris. Truwit says that competing in the Paralympics was an opportunity she dreamed about. "It was the most healing decision I could have made for my recovery,” she tells PEOPLE.

Related: How Ali Truwit Qualified for the Paralympics One Year After Surviving Shark Attack (Exclusive)

“I was given a second chance at life,” the athlete says. “Being face to face with death, and understanding what that looks like, you just kind of want to get up and seize the moment, so I just wanted to get back up and go.”

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The past year had been filled with immense challenges for Truwit, but one of the biggest ones she has faced is dealing with her PTSD from the attack, she says.

“I feel way more confident pushing through hard things than I do understanding that I have bad days,” she says. “It's a space where the support's been so huge for me, because my coach, Jamie Barone, my mom, and my friends have just held the space for me to have those days and help me understand that I can have them and get back up the next day.”

Truwit says she has used mantras and breath work throughout her recovery and training, especially when “my brain can go a million different directions.”

“Mantras are my guideposts in how I approached my recovery and prepared for the Paralympics –  and how I want to feel about myself and my journey,” she says. “I think of [the mantra] ‘I can and I will’ in the middle of a race or the night before with nerves, and remind myself of the work I've done that I'm ready. I think of those whenever I falter and look to them for confidence.”

So how does Truwit summarize her Paralympics journey? Surreal, she says.

Related: Swimmer Jessica Long Wins Paralympic Gold in Same Event 20 Years Apart: 'I Can't Believe I Won'

“It's hard to imagine where I was a year ago, and the fact that I'm here today,” she shares. “I have so many pinch me moments where I'm walking in the village or walking on the pool deck. To look back and think about where I was and where I am is crazy.”

On Aug. 31, Truwit posted a TikTok that showed the stark difference between her first time swimming after her shark attack and swimming in the pool at the Paralympics a year later. She remembers she was fearful the first time she was back in the water and the difference between the two experiences “gives me chills.”

“Someone saw the video, and they wrote that ‘the smile says it all,’ “ she says. “And I think that was such a nice comment for me to hear. To look and see the difference in those videos and think about the fact that I've reclaimed that love of the water, and that I feel so comfortable and happy in the water again. That is honestly bigger to me than any medal.”

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