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Yusra Mardini stepped on a plane back to Germany for the holidays overwhelmed by emotion. News had just filtered through from Syria of the overthrow of the country’s longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Joy and relief were met with hesitation, a reluctance to truly celebrate. The former Olympic swimmer for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) would sit with her thoughts for the next 10 hours, unable to access the internet to truly comprehend the scale of such a historic moment.
Now living in Los Angeles, it has been almost 10 years since Mardini survived a treacherous crossing of the Aegean Sea in a rubber dinghy alongside her sister Sara, successfully escaping her war-torn country. Mardini’s swimming background enabled her to survive.
The boat’s motor began to fail just 30 minutes after departing Turkey and with 20 people crammed inside a space designed for just six, Mardini and her sister opted to sacrifice their own safety. Leaping into the open water, they swam for three hours to lessen the prospect of the boat capsizing before finally reaching Lesbos, Greece.
From bombs landing around her home in Darayya on the outskirts of Damascus, her miraculous journey of resolve ended with her eventually reaching Germany in the hope of a better life. That quickly materialised in the shape of two appearances at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Her story would later be told in the Netflix film The Swimmers.
“The last thing I saw before flying was that half of Syria was liberated,” Mardini tells The Independent, having quickly forgotten about her exams at USC before attending this month’s short course World Swimming Championships in Budapest.
“It was the longest flight of my life, there was no internet on the plane, I didn’t know anything, but when I landed, I saw it, Syria is free from the Assad regime. I was in total shock. It is deeply rooted, the fear of this regime. I thought, ‘what if he comes back?’ and ‘is this real?’
“I didn’t want to risk the lives of my family back in Syria. It was intense. But I realised, slowly, this is real and happening and I was very happy.”
The immediate future is uncertain, with priorities scattered. The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham insurgent group, which led the movement to force Assad from power, has promised to bring to justice those who imprisoned, tortured and killed dissenting voices under the regime.
Mardini is conflicted about the next steps too. She has grand plans for her Yusra Mardini Foundation, yet she is astute enough to realise there is a need for patience.
Her passion for swimming and sport’s ability to inspire can wait. She hesitates several times during our conversation when discussing her country’s potential, circling back to the pressing need to give aid to undernourished Syrians and provide basic human rights, or simply the right to a dream.
“The fear of this regime and everything he’s done to the people is rooted deeply, we never lost hope in what we deserve: human rights, the right to dream, just to be human, like anybody else,” she says. “It was incredible to see Syrians come together, we know we’re not in a position to build an incredible country but we want to try and heal each other, build houses from scratch. Be able to be there for each other.
“I think Syrians are frustrated, everybody is trying to find out what is happening, the next steps, but we’re so traumatised, we have so many issues, people in line for bread, there are still people grieving, people who don’t have homes.
“I don’t think we’re ready for another regime, it’ll take a while for us to trust any government. Actions speak louder than words. But for now we should focus on the humanitarian side of it, to help Syrians and give them shelter to feel safe again.
“[What we ultimately want is] very simple: a country and a government that respects human rights and understands that people want freedom, peace and dignity.”
The 26-year-old is now retired from the pool, having competed in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Inspired by her friend, the legendary American swimmer Katie Ledecky, Mardini attended the Games in Paris this summer, covering the sport as a pundit for Eurosport at La Defense Arena, where two of the ROT’s record 37 athletes, Alaa Maso and Matin Balsini, competed.
“It took me a few years to be OK with not winning a gold medal, because this was my dream,” Mardini adds, now at peace with her path being to make a difference. Yet the evolving situation back home begs the question: would she come out of retirement to represent Syria?
“Representing Syria now is representing its people,” Mardini says. “I don’t think I would care who the government is, I’d want to represent my people anyway. But I’m retired. Would I come out of retirement? I doubt it, but if I ever do, I’d love to represent my country and swim for Syria.”
Her future, she hopes, will include both a return to Syria when the opportunity presents itself, and her studies at the School of Cinematic Arts, where she is majoring in Film and TV Production, with one eye on graduation in 2026.
And while there are more urgent things to do in Syria when the celebrations subside, Mardini maintains sport can play a crucial role in what promises to be “a new era” for the country.
“I don’t know when I’ll go back,” Mardini admits. “It’ll depend on Syria being at peace and being calmer. I want to try to support with education and sports classes, with the foundation, with kids’ or adults’ self-esteem, and help them psychologically. Either professionally or for fun, both can help. I want to go back as soon as possible.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, I sometimes question how I can give sports lessons if they don’t even have a home? But I speak to humanitarians, they say they love any type of normality. If they have sport and education it helps build their future and take the next steps.
“For me it was always swimming, no matter where I was in the world. Even if I was in a tent, I was always thinking about it, my next goal and going to the Olympics. Sport and education can change lives and it changed mine, so why not help and give these opportunities to other refugees and Syrians when I head back there?”
