Two Young Syrian Swimming Champions became Heroines

Sarah and Ysra Mardini were considered as two of the best swimming athletes in Syria. However, the difficulties started for them when the war broke out. After the civil war erupted in Syria the Mardini family moved to avoid the hostilities and to ensure that their daughters could continue training. In 2012 the youngest sister, Ysra was able to participate in a swimming championship in Turkey, but the war was becoming increasingly violent which meant it became more difficult to participate in swimming events.

Last August the two sisters tried –after many attempts- to flee from Lebanon where they were in temporary refuge, to Turkey and from there to the European shores of the Greek islands, close to the borders with Turkey. The journey was not easy, as it turned out because they had to fight for both their lives and for the lives of dozens of their compatriots, who attempted to escape from the hardships of war. They showed bravery like that expected from heroines. 

The sensational story about their struggle for survival, went round the world. Eventually the two girls with dozens of other compatriots boarded a plastic boat, which half an hour after the departure from the Turkish coast, began leaking. The girls explain that it was so loaded with people that this was inevitable from the beginning.

The darkness and strong winds in the middle of the Aegean Sea made the situation even more difficult. The refugees initially decided to throw overboard their personal belongings, but this failed to make things any better. As a result, both the sisters and even two or three others who were good swimmers jumped into the sea in order to help. "I was not afraid, because I knew that no matter what happened I could swim to the island. But the problem was that I had another twenty people with me" said Sarah, who continued: "In Syria I had worked as a lifeguard at the pool and I would never forgive myself if any of these people were harmed”. For three hours they swam pulling the boat by ropes until they reached the Greek island of Lesvos.

After a long an difficult journey, they managed to arrive in Austria and from there to reach Germany where they live today. When they arrived in Berlin, a local charity brought them into contact with the Wasserfreunde Spandau 04, a swimming center near the refugee center where they were staying. The sisters have since been training at the pool and their swimming coach, Sven Spannekrebs says that they are making great progress.

Now they are trying to achieve their goals and make their dreams come true, in a safe environment, away from the horrors of war. "I would like to learn German and to go to school because I’m dreaming of being a pilot," says Ysra, who also dreams of participating in the Olympic Games some day in her favorite sport, swimming. Sarah, as the eldest sister, has undertaken the procedures to bring the rest of the family to Berlin. "I feel that I bring a balance in my life," she says and confesses: "We want to continue our lives in the future. I want to go to college, to become an internationally recognized swimmer and my sister the same. But if we had stayed in Syria, none of this would be possible".