Darien swimmer whose life was altered by a shark attack has qualified for this year's Paralympic games, and she has her coach to thank.

Stamford native Jamie Barone says it happened unintentionally.

"She came to me 10 months ago and was like 'would you be willing to come back and coach me?' Barone told News 12 Connecticut. "One thing led to another, she got crazy improvement and got really, really fast, and now she's headed to Paris."

Ali Truwit swam one of the top 21 times in the Olympic trials to qualify for this year's Paralympic games.

"If you had told me your ability to coach is going to help somebody deal with tragedy in their life, I would have been like: that doesn't really add up to me," Barone says. "Watching what sport has done for her has been inspiring. I think there's true power in that."

The duo will head to Colorado for pre-Olympic training camp at the end of this month with opening ceremonies for the Paralympic games taking place in Paris at the end of August.

As News 12 reported, Ali Truwit lost part of her leg in a shark attack while on vacation.