During the Leader Summit for Refugees, Yusra Mardini took the stage to tell the world that refugees "can achieve great things if given the opportunity." She is an embodiment of that statement.
Mardini first made headlines after her heroic life-saving swim off the Turkish coast. Mardini fled war-torn Syria, like the millions of others, via the Mediterranean. The motor of the boat failed them on their route and that's when Mardini used her exceptional swimming skills to help push a jam-packed boat for three hours, saving around 20 people.
“There were people who didn’t know how to swim,” Yusra said. “It would have been shameful if the people on our boat had drowned. I wasn’t going to sit there and complain that I would drown.”
She ultimately made it to Rio 2016, where she competed and won her heat in the 100-meter butterfly race on Aug. 6. However, her timing did not qualify her to the semifinals.
It seems that when she's not out there saving lives, and making Olympic history, Mardini is melting hearts.
1. When she shook our consciences at the Leader Summit for Refugees
"For me, I want to help change people's perceptions of what a refugee is. For every to understand it is not a choice to flee from your home, and that refugees are normal people who can achieve great things if given the opportunity," Mardini says.
2. When she casually chatted with President Obama
3. And posed next to Meg Ryan
4. She received "The Girl Award" from internationally renowned singer/songwriter and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo
5. Hung out with Ben Stiller and his wife like it's no biggie
6. And got up-close and personal with DJ Kygo
