Yusra Mardini exclusive: The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is needed more than ever
When Yusra Mardini arrived at the IOC Refugee Olympic Team camp in Bayeux, France, on Tuesday 16 July, it seemed like time had turned back.
The two-time Olympian, who retired from swimming after the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, was greeted by staff and former teammates as if she were still part of the team.
This time, however, the 26-year-old, who was one of the stars of the inaugural Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016, will experience her third Games as a broadcast journalist for Discovery, covering her former team among other storylines.
“I prefer interviewing people to being interviewed because sometimes talking all the time can be tiring, but I don’t mind both,” Mardini told Olympics.com before our interview started.
“It's very overwhelming to be back and to see the team. Some of the athletes I know, some of the athletes I just met. It is just always so wonderful seeing how the Refugee Olympic Team just brings everyone together from all over the world.”
She admitted to having mixed feelings about returning to the team in this different role: “It makes me so happy that the team is, you know, getting to know each other and becoming part of each other's families because this is what they are to me. And of course, on the other side, being an athlete or a retired athlete is just so emotional for me. I really want to compete. I want to be there. But I feel very lucky to be close to the team and to be a reporter.”
The progress of IOC Refugee Olympic Team from Rio 2016 to Paris 2024
Mardini was part of a 10-athlete team announced just before Rio 2016. At Tokyo 2020 their team grew to 29 members, and in Paris they will be 37.
“The progress is honestly incredible,” she observed. “The unfortunate fact is that the displaced people’s number around the world is just getting higher. And the past ten years, it went from 65 million displaced people to 120 million, which is why this team is needed more than ever.”
The former swimmer has witnessed many changes first-hand over the last eight years.
“I saw the progress of, you know, getting new people on the team, like the officials to help the athletes. There is a doctor, there is a physical therapist. There's just everything, like any other team. But this team is so unique and special in their own way. And it's just incredible to see what the IOC and the NOCs around the world are doing together.
“It's just shows that when we all stand together, we can make incredible things. I mean, some of the athletes, like Cindy (Ngamba) and Fernando (Dayan Jorge), they're set to win medals. So this is the third time this team ever happens and look where we are today, it's just really incredible and shows the sport is an incredible way to unite people.”
Yusra Mardini: I really love storytelling
Since making her Olympic debut aged 18, Mardini has become a powerful voice for displaced people worldwide.
Her dramatic journey from Syria to Europe made headlines during the Rio 2016 Games, and Netflix turned her story into an acclaimed movie. In 2017, she became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and has since worked as a public speaker and now as a reporter. So what’s next?
“My plan keeps changing!" she laughed. "But, yeah, they say your 20s are for living life and figuring out what you want to do in life. And for me, I found one thing that I really love, which is storytelling. I told my story so many times, and I knew the impact that the story made in the world. And now I get to tell the stories of refugees and the Refugee Olympic Team around the world.”
As a refugee Olympian, facing new and unexpected challenges is nothing new for Yusra.
“I have a nonprofit organisation where I try to help them through education and sports because I felt like this is what made me who I am today,” she said.
“I do a little bit of fashion. I do motivational speaking. So, yeah, a little bit of everything. I still study, I live in L.A., so in general, it's just being an athlete, it's who we are. We go out in the world and we figure it out. For me it is just about enjoying the moment and the opportunities that come around. And I would have never thought I would become a journalist, but here we are. It's so much fun.”