Yusra Mardini

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She was born in Syria and grew up in Damascus (capital of Syria).Syrian Olympic Committee supported in her swimming training.She participated at the 2012 World Swimming Championships in 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter individual medley and 400 meter freestyle events.When Syrian Civil War destroyed her house in August 2015, she decided to flee Syria along with her sister, Sarah. They reached Turkey via Lebanon and were smuggled into Greece along-with 18 other refugees by a boat. The boats engine failed mid-way in the Aegean Sea as the carrying capacity of the boat was not more than 6-7 people. Yusra and her sister pushed the boat for almost 3 hours, until it reached Lesbos. Then they traveled to Germany via Europe and settled in Berlin.She was selected to represent a small team of Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA) under the Olympic flag in June 2016. She also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where, in the opening ceremony, Mardini carried the flag of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.