Yusra Mardini might currently be training twice a day, every day, for two hours, in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics, but she didn't always like swimming. Since then, Yusra has addressed the United Nations General Assembly and met world leaders such as US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis. Whichever flag, I know that I will be representing millions of people around the world.”, Save up to 39% + chance to WIN*-*Conditions apply, In 2015, Yusra Mardini almost drowned in the Mediterranean, while fleeing the civil war in Syria. Born in Damascus, Syria, in 1998, Mardini learned to swim with her father at age four, and by 2012, she had participated in the World Championships in Istanbul. Yusra, six at the time, recalls that as the moment she decided that she too wanted to be an Olympic champion. She became the youngest Goodwill Ambassador to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in April 2017 as a champion of refugees all over the world. She also still has her eye on Tokyo 2020 in 12 months’ time. At 18-years-old, Mardini competed in the 200-metre freestyle swimming event. Yusra Mardini, swimming for the Refugee Olympic Team, competes in a women's 100m butterfly heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics… Now Hollywood wants to tell her story. She’s been appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). If four years ago Refugee Olympic Team swimmer Yusra Mardini was a wide-eyed first-time Olympian at Rio 2016, the Syrian native, now 22, is a self-assured international athlete, best-selling author, United Nations ambassador and so much more. Less than a year earlier, the 18-year-old had fled her home in Damascus to escape the Syrian conflict. “If I am going to, Growing up, life in Syria was good for a family like the Mardinis. Yusra Mardini is an Olympic swimmer and was a member of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Out of Syria’s prewar population of around 21 million, 5.5 million people are now refugees; more than 12 million have been internally displaced. In August 2012, fighting broke out in Daraya as the government tried to wrest control of the suburb. "For a whole day we didn't know what had happened to him." She was rated as one of The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 by TIME Magazine. Menu. In Syria, d eveloping her talent as a swimmer was a challenge. Yusra lost count of the times she came close to death. “I thought it would be a real shame if I drowned,” Yusra said with typical nonchalance after her story became known, “because I am a swimmer.”. “I was thinking, ‘This is my end now,’” she says. The refugees each had to pay $1500 for the 10-kilometre journey to the Greek island of Lesbos. Heinkelein also set up a lucrative contract for Yusra to be an ambassador for clothing brand Under Armour. Although she has found the attention often overwhelming, Yusra takes it in her stride, especially now that the rest of her family have joined her in Berlin. She has written a memoir, , and a feature film about her, directed by Stephen Daldry, the Oscar-winning director of, As lofty as her achievements have been since she fled Syria, Yusra’s focus is now back on swimming. She has given speeches at the United Nations and to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Yusra Mardini: Refugee Hero and Olympic Swimmer, by Kelly Spence, focuses on Yusra’s journey and her story of survival before she joined the team. One of the most inspiring athletes of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil was Yusra Mardini. Yusra competed at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, helping to represent 65 million displaced people worldwide. Yusra Mardini es una nadadora olímpica y miembro del primer equipo olímpico de atletas refugiados, que participó en los Juegos Olímpicos de Río 2016. Swimmers Yusra Mardini (L) and Rami Anis both made the refugee Olympic team after fleeing the war in Syria. “Then I realised that it was an opportunity that would not come to a lot of people.” Yusra didn’t expect to win a medal, and she was knocked out in the second round. “We think about our futures. But Yusra Mardini, Olympic swimmer, knows to expect the unexpected. After three hours, Yusra and Sarah were so overwhelmed with cold and exhaustion, they clambered back onto the boat. The new Olympic Channel brings you news, highlights, exclusive behind the scenes, live events and original programming, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Mardini grew up in Syria. This story is inspiring, will bring you to tears, and will open your eyes to many of the issues … In the two and a half years since she arrived in Europe, Yusra – pronounced “eesra” – has competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Yusra Mardini, swimming for the Refugee Olympic Team, competes in a women's 100m butterfly heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, … Yusra Mardini was part of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team that competed under the Olympic flag at the Rio Olympics. The noise of gunfire, mortars and bombs was constant. The club let Yusra and Sarah try out. Yusra Mardini was among 10 athletes named on Friday by the International Olympic Committee for a refugee team at the games. She’s been appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At conferences such as Davos, she speaks without notes. She has written a memoir, Butterfly, and a feature film about her, directed by Stephen Daldry, the Oscar-winning director of The Hours and Billy Elliot, is now in the works. If four years ago Refugee Olympic Team swimmer Yusra Mardini was a wide-eyed first-time Olympian at Rio 2016, the Syrian native, now 22, is a self-assured international athlete, best-selling author, United Nations ambassador and so much more. When the conflict intensifies, her father arranges for her … One man jumped into the sea, so the boat would sit higher in the water. Yusra was onl “I want to be at the Olympics no matter what the flag is,” Yusra says. We are doctors and engineers and teachers. She swam for this country in many swimming competitions. Yusra Mardini Yusra Mardini surges to victory in her heat of the women’s 100m butterfly, drawing huge cheers from the crowd at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. “I am Syrian in my heart, in my mind, in my soul, but I am living in Germany now, so I respect that. “It was terrifying,” Yusra says. "He didn't answer his phone," she says. Yusra’s father, Ezzat, worked as a swimming. When Yusra was just four, Ezzat threw her into the pool. Yusra Mardini fled Syria almost a year ago and is now part of a special refugee team at the the Olympic Games in Rio.. Mardini, only eighteen years old, was born in a Christian family of Damascus, where she stood out for its excellent academic results and started to swim, with the support of the Syrian Olympic … She became the youngest Goodwill Ambassador to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in April 2017 as a champion of refugees all over the world. the western Turkish coast. As Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Mardini advocates for the more than 65 million refugees around the world, promotes understanding of their stories and determination and helps prove that every refugee is a human being first. From the day the Syrian fled her home in Damascus to the … Butterfly, Mardini’s autobiography that tells her inspiring young-life story, was published in May 2018. Yusra’s father, Ezzat, worked as a swimming coach at a sports complex near their home in Damascus. 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