Members of the Olympic refugee team including Yusra Mardini from Syria pose in front of Christ the Redeemer.
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After the race, Mardini only had positive things to say about her experience in Rio so far.
The 18-year-old was the first competitor to represent the refugee team, a team of 10 athletes who have all faced remarkable obstacles in their personal journeys to Rio.
But unlike some of the athletes she’s up against, Mardini is also on a brand-new team on the Olympic stage, the Team Refugee Athletes. “Competing with all these great champions is exciting”.
“I want everyone to think refugees are normal people who had their homelands and lost them not because they wanted to run away and be refugees, but because they have dreams in their lives and they had to go”.
Mardini, and her sister Sarah, fled their Christian community in Damascus as civil war broke out in Syria and passed through Lebanon and then Turkey before their treacherous crossing by dinghy to the Greek island of Lesbos. “It means so much to me to have a partner that accepts me, includes me, and provides me with the same opportunities as other athletes competing in Rio”.
Instead, Mardini marched with her newfound teammates, joined in Olympic unity under the “refugee” umbrella. She added about a second to her entry time, listed at 1:08.51.
Despite not advancing to the semifinal round of the 100-meter butterfly – only the 16 best times from all heats advance – she will swim again on Wednesday in another event, the 100-meter freestyle.
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Only two days into the Rio Olympics and one athlete has already captured the hearts of viewers around the world and become a standout star of the games.
