Who is Yusra Mardini? Olympics' Refugee Swimmer Captures Hearts for Heroic Story!

Yusra Mardini is capturing the hearts of the world with her incredible story from being a Syrian refugee to an Olympian.

The 18-year-old Olympic swimmer was escaping from Syria last year with a group of 20 people in a boat when the motor stopped. She and her sister were among the only passengers who knew how to swim, so they jumped out of the boat and spent three hours pushing it to shore.

“I will die anyway,” Yusra says she told herself when making the life-changing decision (via NBC News). “I had to try.”

Yusra now lives in a refugee camp in Berlin, Germany and she will be competing in the women’s freestyle even on Wednesday. During the women’s 100m butterfly event on Saturday (August 6), she placed in 41st place.