Yusra Mardini ahead of final Refugee Team appearance: "It changed my life forever"
The Syrian swimmer will compete for the last time as a refugee at the 2022 FINA World Championships. After that, she has a European citizenship, and a film about her remarkable life to look forward to among other things.
Swimming
The 2022 FINA World Championships will be Yusra Mardini's final appearance at an international swimming meet as part of a Refugee Team.
Five years after making the treacherous journey from war-torn Syria to Europe with her sister, in which the siblings helped rescue their fellow refugees in the water, Yusra is soon to receive the citizenship of her new homeland, Germany.
The period in between saw her compete at two Olympic games as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, and become a beacon of hope to displaced people around the world.
“Hopefully I won't cry because being with the Refugee Olympic team has been a huge part of my life. It just changed my life forever,” the 24-year-old told Olympics.com.
“I feel like I’ve lived two lives: there were the first 17 years of my life, then the last five as a refugee. Sometimes I feel like I'm 50 years old because of everything that’s happened."
Yusra Mardini's life lessons from the IOC Refugee Olympic Team
Just like most Olympic athletes, winning the gold medal was Mardini’s only focus after being awarded an IOC Refugee Athlete Scholarship and being selected for Rio 2016.
But after seeing how her story inspired displaced people of every race worldwide, the Darayya-born swimmer discovered a new source of motivation.
“Going from war to this little girl focussed only on swimming, to representing millions around the world, that opened my eyes so much,” Mardini, who was also one of the athletes to participate in the Airbnb Olympian & Paralympian Online Experience, continued.
“That changed the way I think. I honestly cared only about myself when I was younger. I'm still super competitive, but learned a lot about caring for other people. I learned a lot about diversity, I learned a lot about how we really are stronger together.
“The Refugee Olympic Team has every nationality, we have every colour, we have different people, we have moms, we have families. I love all of them. Despite their struggles, they are still smiling and have brought hope to so many people around the world.”
From war-torn Syria to the big screen
In recognition of her achievements and dedication to improving the lives of others, Mardini was appointed the youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Refugee Agency in 2017, aged just 19.
Since then, she has addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly, met the Pope, and amassed over 360K followers on Instagram.
Fittingly, her story is now about to be immortalised in a blockbuster film, which will be released towards the end of 2022 on Netflix.
“It's about these two sisters crossing together. So we're both athletes and then each one goes our separate ways. Then they show the Olympics, but the Rio scene was filmed at the London 2012 Olympic pool,” she revealed.
“I’m 100% sure this movie's going to make the conversation about refugees bigger and more people are going to understand what's happening because there are also some scenes where they show you the reality of being a refugee in a war.
The Mardini sisters, Yusra and Sarah, will be played by Lebanese actress Manal Issa and her real-life sister Nathalie, respectively.
**“**It’s so fitting that the movie is so diverse. The sisters that play me and my sister are from Lebanon. The woman that plays my mom, she's a Syrian actress. The guy that plays my cousin is an Egyptian actor. The guy that plays my dad is Palestinian. My coach is a German actor. I love it.
Refugee, Olympic swimmer, UN ambassador, author, and now the main subject of a film, what is next for Yusra Mardini after the 2022 World Swimming Championships?
The reality is that not even she knows, just yet. But swimming and continuing to help and inspire refugees around the world will continue to be at the heart of her mission.
“When the movie goes out, it's going to be a crazy few months, so I'm just going to focus on that. After that, I'll be focussing on the NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) that I want to launch,” she said.
“I will continue swimming. I don't know when.”
With an ever-growing number of refugees in the world and Refugee Day coming up on 20 June, the freestyle and butterfly sprinter also had some words of advice for those looking to play their part.
“Anyone can help a refugee. It doesn't have to be financial all the time. If your neighbour is a refugee, remember that they’ve had a rough journey. Take them a piece of cake and give it to them, that's all. Knock on the door saying, “Hey, I just wanted to give you that,” she said.
“We cannot control war breaking out. We cannot control what's happening in the world politically. But we can try to build a society where refugees are integrated and have a safe place to live. We can all help.”