Yusra Mardini

Yusra Mardini
Yusra Mardini
Personal information
Birth name Yusra Mardini
Born (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998
Darayya, Damascus, Syria
Occupation Swimmer
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Sport
Country Syria
Sport Freestyle swimming, Butterfly stroke

Yusra Mardini (Arabic: يسرى مارديني‎) is a swimmer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT), that competed under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[1] On 27 April 2017, Mardini was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.[2]

Early life

Growing up in Darayya, a suburb of Damascus,[3] Mardini trained in swimming with the support of the Syrian Olympic Committee.[4] In 2012, she represented Syria in the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) 200 metre individual medley, 200 metre freestyle and 400 metre freestyle events.[5]

Mardini's house was destroyed in the Syrian Civil War.[6] Mardini and her sister Sarah decided to flee Syria in August 2015.[7] They reached Lebanon, and then Turkey, where they arranged to be smuggled into Greece by boat with 18 other migrants,[7] though the boat was meant to be used by no more than 6 or 7 people.[4] After the motor stopped working and the dinghy began to take on water in the Aegean Sea, Yusra, her sister, and two other people who were able to swim[4] got into the water and pushed the boat for over 3 hours until it reached Lesbos.[7] They then traveled through Europe to Germany, where they settled in Berlin in September 2015.[4] Her parents also fled Syria and live in Germany.[8] On 27 April 2017, Mardini was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.[2]

Swimming career

On arrival in Germany, Mardini continued her training with her coach Sven Spannenkrebs from Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 in Berlin, in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics.[4][7] She attempted to qualify in the 200 metres freestyle swimming event.[6] In June 2016, Mardini was one of ten athletes selected for the ROT.[9] Mardini competed in the 100 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.[10] At the Rio Olympics, Mardini won a 100m butterfly heat against four other swimmers, with a time of 1:09.21 and a rank of 41st among 45 entrants.[11][12][13]

IOC President Thomas Bach said of the refugee athletes, "We help them to make their dream of sporting excellence come true, even when they have to flee war and violence."[14]

Yusra Mardini's story is told in the short story collection Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo. The story is illustrated by JM Cooper[15], and when the story was released as a podcast episode it was narrated by American journalist and long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad[16]. At the 26th of April 2018 the autobiography "Butterfly" by Yusra Mardini will be published, media announced. It is planned, that director Stephen Daldry will make a movie about her life.[17]

Sister's arrest

Yusra's older sister, Sara, was arrested in Greece in August 2018. She was accused of being a volunteer in smuggling illegal immigrants to Lesbos, Greece.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Fahey, Ciaran (18 March 2016). "Swimmer Yusra Mardini competed at Rio Games for refugee squad in hopes of inspiring other Syrians. On 6 August 2016, Yusra won her heat Summer Olympics in the 100 meter butterfly". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Yusra Mardini appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador". UNHCR. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  3. ↑ "From Syrian Refugee to Olympic Swimmer: Yusra Mardini Goes for the Gold". Vogue. 24 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Philip Oltermann. "From Syria to Rio: refugee Yusra Mardini targets Olympic swimming spot". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "The inspirational Olympic journey of refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini". Olympic.org. Olympic Games. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Olympics hopeful Syrian refugee swims for three hours pushing boat of migrants". Stuff. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "After Surviving Aegean Sea, Syrian Swimmer Hopes For Spot In Olympics". NPR.org. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini gets a chance to go the Olympic Games". SwimSwam. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "IOC selects 10 to form refugee team for Rio".
  10. ↑ Wilder, Charly She Swam to Escape Syria. Now She'll Swim in Rio. New York Times. August 3, 2016
  11. ↑ "Rio 2016". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini just won her heat at the Olympics, quartz.com, retrieved 7 August (CET)
  13. ↑ Yusra Mardini delights with butterfly heat win for Refugee Olympic Team, The Guardian, retrieved 6 August 2016
  14. ↑ "Team of Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA) created by the IOC". IOC. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls - JM Cooper". 27 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Girls, Good Night Stories for Rebel. "Yusra Mardini read by Diana Nyad – Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls – Podcast". Podtail. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  17. ↑ "Schwimmerin Yusra Mardini: Vom Flüchtling zum Weltstar". Spiegel (in German). 19 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Greek NGO assisting migrants denies running criminal network". The National. 29 August 2018.
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