About
Refugee activist whose life story was portrayed in the 2022 Netflix biographical film The Swimmers. The film tells the story of how she and her sister Yusra Mardini fled Syria in 2015. They ended up swimming from the middle of the Aegean Sea to Germany. She has earned more than 160,000 followers on her sara_mardini963 Instagram account.
Before Fame
She and her sister swam at their local pool during their formative years. When they arrived at a refugee center in Germany, they spent their days at a local swim club.
Trivia
She was forced to quit swimming due to a shoulder injury. In 2018, she was arrested while advocating for refugees in Lesbos, Greece. She was held in jail for more than three months on charges including spying, smuggling and belonging to a criminal organization. Amnesty International described the charges as trumped up and farcical.
Family Life
She has another sister named Shaed. Her mother, Mervat, is a physiotherapist. Her father, Ezzat, is a swim coach.
Associated With
In The Swimmers, she and her sister were played by actresses Manal Issa and Nathalie Issa.
