1. Yusra Mardini is a Syrian former competition swimmer and refugee of the Syrian civil war.
13 Facts About Yusra Mardini
1. 2.
Yusra Mardini was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team that competed under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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On 27 April 2017, Mardini was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
4.
Yusra Mardini competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with the Refugee Olympic Team.
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Yusra Mardini was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023, alongside her sister, Sarah.
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Yusra Mardini attempted to qualify in the 200 metres freestyle swimming event, and in June 2016, Mardini was one of ten athletes selected for the newly formed Refugee Olympic Team.
7.
Yusra Mardini competed in the 100 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
8.
Yusra 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, but did not qualify for the semi-finals.
9.
Yusra Mardini competed at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
10.
Yusra Mardini carried the flag of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in the athletes' parade of the opening ceremony.
11.
In May 2017, Yusra Mardini became the youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
12.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Yusra Mardini was hired by Eurosport and Discovery TV channels to report on the Refugee Olympic Team.
13.
Yusra Mardini's story is told in the short story collection Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo.