Two-time Paralympic medalist Ali Truwit has announced the launch of the Stronger Than You Think Performance Incentive Fund, a $400,000 gift through her foundation to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation (USOPF).
The Fund will provide financial awards to U.S. Para swimmers who place 1st through 3rd or set world records at the 2026 Para Pan Pacific Championships and a to-be-named World Series meet in 2027 and 2028.
Truwit, 25, was motivated to start the fund after learning that 57% of Team USA athletes earn less than $50,000 annually and many work multiple jobs to fund their Olympic pursuits.
“Through my efforts to make the Paris Paralympics, I experienced firsthand the large financial demands of being a pro athlete — the costs of training, strength work, recovery, physical therapy, nutrition, and more,” Truwit said in a Stronger Than You Think press release.
“Joining the Paralympic movement was one of the most healing things I did for my recovery after the shark attack and amputation. It enabled me to focus on all I have instead of what I’ve lost and all I can still do instead of what I can’t. I want to pay that forward by supporting Team USA Para swimmers with an incentive that helps ready them for the LA ‘28 Paralympics.”
In an Instagram post, she said: “My big goal for this initiative is that it scales across the Paralympic movement to other sports, as well as in the number of competitions it’s offered at each year, with increased pools for even more impactful financial rewards for athletes.”
View this post on Instagram
“Ali has transformed her personal journey into a powerful act of leadership for the Paralympic community,” said Christine Walshe, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation President. “By investing in Para swimmers, she is helping ensure athletes can devote their energy to training and competition as they prepare to represent Team USA on the world stage.”
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee increased its financial rewards for Para swimmers in 2018, matching what Olympians earn–though those bonuses are only awarded once every four years at the Paralympic Games
In 2024, the Canadian Paralympic Committee announced it would award Paralympians medal bonuses for the first time after receiving a $4 million private donation.
A shark attack survivor, Truwit started the Stronger Than You Think nonprofit in 2025, helping provide access to prosthetics for those in need and awarding water safety grants to programs.
“The Paralympics enabled me to focus on all that I still have as opposed to wallowing in what I didn’t have,” Truwit said in a Team USA story last year. “For me, going for the Paralympics in the first year of recovery was the most healing decision I could have made because I was able to focus on all those things, and it gave me hope of what I could get back to.”
A former member of the Yale swim team, Truwit was attacked by a shark in May 2023, losing her foot at the ankle.
Less than 18 months later, she represented the U.S. at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, winning a pair of silver medals in the women’s 400 free S10 and the 100 back S10. She took 2025 off from competing while focusing on her foundation.
Amazing!!
Does anyone know where to find Ali’s documentary? I have been trying to find it on different streaming sites but have been unable to so far! Would love to watch it.
Same!