Yusra Mardini (Arabic: يسرى مارديني) is a Syrian swimmer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT), that competed under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On 27 April 2017, Mardini was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
Growing up in Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, Mardini trained in swimming with the support of the Syrian Olympic Committee. In 2012, she represented Syria in the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) 200 metre individual medley, 200 metre freestyle and 400 metre freestyle events.
Mardini's house was destroyed in the Syrian Civil War. Mardini and her sister Sara decided to flee Syria in August 2015. They reached Lebanon, and then Turkey, where they arranged to be smuggled into Greece by boat with 18 other migrants, though the boat was meant to be used by no more than 6 or 7 people. After the motor stopped working and the dinghy began to take on water in the Aegean Sea, Yusra, her sister, Sara, and two other people who were able to swim got into the water and treaded water for over 3 hours until the engine started working again, and the group reached Lesbos. They then traveled through Europe to Germany, where they settled in Berlin in September 2015. Her parents also fled Syria and live in Germany.