Syrian Olympic Swimmer Launches Yusra Mardini Foundation
Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer who competed at the Olympics for the Refugee Olympic Team, has launched the Yusra Mardini Foundation to aid refugees.
Mardini made the announcement during a talk in Dubai this week. Her organization is dedicated to advancing access to sporting and educational opportunities to refugees across the globe as well as advocating for refugee rights.
Mardini said, in part, in a social media post:
I am grateful that, through the work of the Yusra Mardini Foundation, I will have the opportunity to push for that change, using the power of sports, which has been a central part of my life, to show the world: Everyone must be treated equally.
Mardini, 25, represented Syria internationally before the country descended into civil war. She and her sister, Sarah, fled their home in Damascus in 2015. When their motor on their boat died in the Aegean Sea in their attempted crossing to Europe, Yusra and Sarah got in the water and used their swimming ability to guide the boat to shore safely. This part of their journey was chronicled in the Netflix film, The Swimmers, which was nominated for a BAFTA Award.
Yusra Mardini continued training in Germany and qualified for the Refugee Olympic Team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She carried the flag for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Mardini is currently based in the United States, where she’s studying film at the University of Southern California.