Athletes who have been forced to flee their country—including a swimmer from Syria and a marathoner from Ethiopia—are being given a special place in this year’s games.
In August 2015, 18-year-old Yusra Mardini and her sister Sarah fled the war in Syria, spending a month traveling to reach safety in Germany. When their tiny, overcrowded boat from Turkey broke down before it reached the shore in Greece, the girls jumped into the water and helped guide it to safety, swimming three and a half hours to help save the others onboard. This month—exactly a year later—Mardini will swim in the Olympics, as a member of the first-ever refugee Olympic team.
