The upcoming Netflix movie The Swimmers tells the true story of two sisters who had to flee war-torn Syria before becoming an Olympian.
Sarah, now 26, and Yusra Mardini, now 24, left their home in Damascus for Europe in August 2015, four years after the conflict broke out in March 2011. They planned to fly to Istanbul before continuing to Greece by sea and then to Germany by land.
But the journey almost ended in tragedy when the engine of the dinghy they were using to cross the Aegean stalled, leaving the 18 on board in danger.
Realizing that the boat, designed for only seven people, could not support the weight of everyone on board, the sisters jumped into the icy water.
The story of sisters Yusra Mardini and Sarah Mardini (pictured at the 2016 Bambi Awards in Berlin) pushing a dinghy full of refugees from Turkey to Greece has been immortalized in an upcoming Netflix film
The upcoming Netflix movie The Swimmers (pictured) tells the story of the Mardini sisters, beginning with their escape from Syria’s civil war in 2015
Yusra Mardini became one of 42 athletes on the newly formed refugee team and competed in the 100-meter butterfly race in Rio 2016 (pictured).
They then spent three hours pushing the dinghy across the water from Turkey to Greece. Her daring actions were made possible by her father Ezzat’s lifelong swimming training.
Miraculously, the boat reached the island of Lesvos and everyone on board survived.
Speaking to Web shortly afterwards, Yusra said: “We just had to do it. The boat was built for seven or eight people, but carried 20 people.
“Sarah and I went in the water with another guy who could swim. We pushed for three hours, the worst part was the cold and the darkness.”
She continued: “It would have been a shame if the people on our boat had drowned.
“There were people who couldn’t swim. I wouldn’t sit there and complain that I was drowning. If I were going to drown, at least I’d be proud of myself and my sister.”
Yusra Mardini (pictured at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games) talks to her German coach Sven Spanekrebs
Actors Manal Issa and Matthias Schweighofer (pictured) play Yusra Mardini and Sven Spannekrebs in Netflix’s The Swimmers
Sarah added: “It was actually scary for the other people who were in the boat with us, but not for me.
“I just wanted to get everyone to the island safely. What we did, thank God.’
The girls, freezing and exhausted, kicked their shoes off so hard that their efforts paid off.
Three hours later they landed on the Greek island of Lesbos: everyone had survived.
For the sisters, the moment they were washed up on that beach was the end of five years of terror.
They had stayed in Damascus, the Syrian capital, during the early years of the civil war, trying to ignore the bombs that were ravaging the city around them.
In 2012, Yusra even represented her country at the World Cup in Turkey.
But as conditions worsened, her swimming began to take a backseat.
“The war was hard; Sometimes we couldn’t train because of the war,” Yusra explained.
“Or sometimes you had training, but there was a bomb in the swimming pool.”
After traversing camps in Lebanon and the vast expanses of Europe, the sisters finally found refuge in Germany.
Once there, they were able to make contact with a swimming pool near the refugee center where they lived, where they began training with local trainer Sven Spanekrebs.
Real life sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa (pictured) portray sisters Sarah and Yusra Mardini in the film
The film follows the sisters’ harrowing dinghy journey across the Aegean Sea, when they were forced to jump out of the boat and spend three hours in the icy waters to get it to safety
Her goal was to train to compete in the 2020 Olympics.
That year, however, the International Olympic Committee announced for the first time in its history that nations competing in Rio would be joined by a team of refugees made up of athletes who would otherwise be stateless and disfellowshipped.
Yusra became one of the 42 athletes representing the team, swam in the 100-meter butterfly and won one of the heats.
Speaking about the team, Yusra told Web: “I want to represent all refugees because I want to show everyone that after the pain, after the storm, there are calm days. I want to inspire them to do something good in their lives.”
Yusra Mardini (pictured training at the Olympic swimming site in Brazil in 2016) said it would have been “shameful” if one of the refugees had drowned on the dinghy she was traveling on
The story of Yusra Mardini (pictured at a press conference in Berlin in 2016) was immortalized by Netflix in his film The Swimmers
Now Netflix has immortalized her story in its upcoming film The Swimmers, which is being directed by Bafta-winning actress Sally El Hosaini and executive produced by Stephen Daldry.
The cast includes real-life sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa as Sarah and Yusra Mardini.
The synopsis reads, “Two young sisters embark on a risky journey from war-torn Syria to the Rio 2016 Olympics, heroically using their hearts and swimming skills.”
Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film is now one of Netflix’s biggest Oscar hopes.
The Swimmers is available to stream on Netflix in the UK from November 23.