That September, just four months after the attack, he asked his former coach: James Baroneif he were to join her again.
Ali ended up taking home a silver medal at the U.S. Paralympic Swimming National Championships in Orlando last December, then won three events en route to qualifying for the 2024 Paralympics at the U.S. Trials in June.
It is categorized as S10, which is for swimmers with minimal weakness affecting their legs, missing feet, missing a leg below the knee, or hip problems.
“If he would have ever texted me or called me and said, 'You know what? I'm going to curl up in a ball today and cry,'” said James, who came out of retirement to coach Ali. TODAY“Everyone would say, 'That's fine. Take the day, do whatever you want,'” but in his case, he added, “not once. He's never missed a day of practice.”