Is Netflix’s The Swimmers A True Story? Yusra Mardini on Her Treacherous Journey to Europe

Olympian, UN ambassador, author – and totally unassuming champion swimmer, meet Yusra Mardini…

She’s only 23 years old, but Yusra Mardini might be the most inspiring woman we’ve ever met. At just 17, the swimmer fled her home in war-torn Syria to embark on a treacherous journey to start a new life in Germany. Despite this, by the age of 18 she had become an Olympian, and at 19 she was appointed as the youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency.

Her incredible 25-day passage to Berlin saw her leave Syria in 2015 with her then 20-year-old older sister Sara. They travelled via Beirut to Turkey where they took an inflatable boat to Greece. It’s here where she, and around 20 passengers, would face a life-or-death situation when their small dinghy’s motor broke. Yusra, her sister, and two others, jumped into the Aegean sea to swim the boat to safety, pushing and pulling the dinghy for three-and-a-half hours to the Greek island of Lesbos, floating all the other refugees to safety. She arrived in Greece in just a T-shirt and jeans, with her mobile phone and 500 Euros.

“Even though I’m a swimmer, I was so scared. I was very tiny and the sea is not the same as the pool. My sister and I are both lifeguards and had swam open water a few times before but that just made us even more aware of the dangers, you never know when something, or someone who is panicking, might pull you down,” recalled Yusra. “But we had no choice but to make the journey. I was very young, and I just wanted a better chance at life, I wanted a good place to train, I wanted to have a safe school and not be scared every time I left the house – wondering if I’d come back that day or not,” she continued.

2020 and 2021 have been a rough two years – help make 2022 a better one for refugees.#CommitToKindness and keep refugee families warm this winter.

Make a donation today. https://t.co/QJ0xdHAztU pic.twitter.com/hlrUP4ozhb

— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) January 7, 2022

The sisters made it across to Greece and then continued the unpredictable journey towards Berlin. Once there, they were granted asylum, but their attempts to bring their younger sister and parents over through legal channels failed, so the rest of the family followed on the same route as the sisters. Yusra soon left the family home in Berlin to move to Hamburg to continue training as a professional swimmer, culminating in being part of the IOC Refugee Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Then, last year, Yusra formed part of the 29-strong refugee team at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It was surreal, because in the beginning I wasn’t very proud of being a refugee but then I accepted it and went with the team. I met all the refugee athletes and learned their stories and I realised that they all had so much determination and they were working so hard for their dreams to come true. And I have so much respect for that,” explains Yusra. “Once I entered the stadium, I realised it’s not just about me, it’s about millions of displaced people around the world. And now it has become my job to represent those refugees around the world and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Yusra returned to the Middle East a few weeks ago to represent the FINA Refugee Team at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, racing in the 50-metre Butterfly event – the first time she’s competed professionally in the Middle East.

“I love the Arabic world, you feel like it’s one big country because we have mostly the same food and the same traditions, and you hear Arabic everywhere you go. So I was very happy about being there,” she shares. “I’m also sad, because, geographically I’m so close to home it just breaks my heart that I can’t visit. But I try and think about the positive side,” said the athlete.

Yusra’s journey has been told in a series of short stories, in a podcast episode narrated by renowned long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, in her 2018 autobiography Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian – My Story of Rescue, Hope, and Triumph, and now in a film which comes out later this year. Her story has given her a chance to become a voice for refugees through her work with UNHCR, showing that the forcibly displaced can rebuild their lives and positively contribute to their host countries.

“I need to let people know that those stories are still happening. I bring awareness by trying to speak at high-level events and I’ve had the opportunity to visit refugee camps as well,” said Yusra. “I want to change the attitudes of some people towards refugees, we are normal people who want a chance to live, we’re not here to steal your jobs!” The role has given Yusra a global platform, she’s been honoured with a number of awards, she’s addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly and met royals and dignitaries including the Pope and Barack Obama.

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Each country has the power to ensure stateless people can acquire a nationality. #EndStatelessness #IBelong pic.twitter.com/C1q9JK80e4

— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) January 4, 2022

“It felt very nice and peaceful meeting the Pope,” remembered Yusra. “Another enjoyable meeting was with Emma Watson, I flew into London and we went for a walk which was very down-to-earth. It’s just nice to know that even though she is very famous, that she still cared about me, about this one individual that is doing something for refugees, that made me really happy.”

Yusra, who has almost 400K followers on Instagram is also gaining interest from the fashion world and has modelled for a couple of global style magazine shoots. “To be honest, I’ve been very interested in fashion for as long as I can remember, I have so many clothes! I’m used to making outfits work from less expensive stores, so it was so great to wear high-fashion brands like Versace, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga for the shoots.” And when Yusra isn’t swimming, working with the UNHCR or playing dress up in front of the cameras, she likes to chill out with friends. “I just like to keep it simple, just order a burger and we’ll stay in and watch Netflix – usually Bridgerton or I’ve been watching The Crown again, and noticing all the things I missed first time round!” She might enjoy ordinary pastimes but Yusra Mardini is an extraordinary woman – one whose star is rising, as she spreads a message of resilience and hope.

Words by Devinder Bains. Photography by Maximilian Baier.

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s January 2022 issue.