Meet the Incredible Woman Who Just Shattered Donald Trump's Stereotypes at the Olympics
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Yusra Mardini, 18, once quite literally swam for her life when her boat sank as she was crossing the Mediterranean sea while fleeing from Syria. On Saturday, she swam in the Olympics and won her swimming heat.
Mardini swam in the first-ever Olympic swimming team made up of refugees.
She was one of two from Syria in a team of 10. And while Mardini didn't win a medal — yet — she did win the opening heat of the women’s 100-meter butterfly swimming and inspired thousands.
Comments on her Instagram page show how much her feat means to people.
Yusra Mardini/Instagram - instagram.com
Yusra Mardini/Instagram - instagram.com
Yusra Mardini/Instagram - instagram.com
Donald Trump has made some troubling statements about refugees like Mardini.
These statements range from negative and ignorant to downright misleading, such as what he said about children, as previously reported by ATTN:
"I can look at their face and say, 'You can't come here,'" Trump said. "We don't know where their parents come from. They have no documentation whatsoever... I've talked to the greatest legal people, I've spoken to the greatest security people. There's absolutely no way of saying where these people come from. They may be from Syria, they may be ISIS, they may be ISIS-related."
But Mardini defies his blatantly discriminatory judgments and proves that refugees can achieve great things.
"I want everyone not to give up on their dreams and do what they feel in their hearts," Mardini said. "Even if it’s impossible, even if they don’t have the right conditions, you never know what will happen, just keep trying. Maybe you’ll get a chance like I did. Or maybe you’ll make your own chance."
