Refugee Athlete Yusra Mardini Joins Under Armour's Bench
Syrian Swimmer Has Overcome Challenges Far Greater Than the Olympics
By Ann-Christine Diaz.Published on Oct 20, 2017
Editor's Pick
Syrian refugee athlete Yusra Mardini now has a brand home. Today Under Armour has added the 19-year-old Olympic swimmer to its team of international athletes, celebrating her arrival in a powerful new film.
The video depicts various scenes of Mardini in training--throwing punches, breathing heavily after a hard workout, fighting against the current in a wave pool--intercut with more quiet, introspective moments of her remembering the hurdles she faced as a refugee, fleeing Damascus to find a new home. Her father had saved money to bring the family to Turkey, but once there, they had tremendous challenges. Mardini and her sister, for example, had to help haul a broken motor boat of refugees from Turkey across the sea to the Greek isle of Lesbos, after men on board had already given up. In short, the obstacles she faces now are nothing compared to what she's overcome as a refugee.
"I shouldn't be alive today," her voiceover recites. "I should have been killed by the bomb that hit the pool in Damascus. I should have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. I should have been one of the many faces of refugees who died along the way, but I am here, alive because I kept moving. So many things tried to stop me, break me, so many times something whispered, this, now this will defeat you. But I kept moving … And now when my exhaustion rises, I remember. And my strength just rises higher. It says greater thing than this have tried to stop me, and I keep moving." The film ends with the line, "Turn your pain into strength," followed by the brand's tag, "I Will."
"We are inspired by her drive and accomplishments, both as a person and as an athlete," says Chris Bate, Under Armour managing director, Europe in a statement. "The way in which she is dealing with life's challenges, both past and present, shows a tremendous amount of character."
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About
Credits
- Date
- Oct 20, 2017
- Agency:
- Nordpol
- Client:
- Under Armour
- Marketing:
- Stefanie Kroll
- Marketing:
- Philipp Walter
- Marketing:
- Conrad Lagemann
- Marketing:
- Karina Engeldal
- Marketing:
- Tim Duffels
- Marketing:
- Barry Schmits
- Creative Direction:
- Tim Schierwater
- Creative Direction:
- Sebastian Behrendt
- Copywriter:
- Simon Rösel
- Copywriter:
- David Krumwiede
- Copywriter:
- Janet Champ
- Copywriter:
- Aaron Kaplowitz
- Art Direction:
- Bekim Terzija
- Agency Post Production:
- Maximilian Fritz
- Agency Post Production:
- Noel Lent
- Agency Post Production:
- Jana Strüwe
- Account & Strategy:
- Leonard Schlenk
- Account & Strategy:
- Niklas Franke
- Account & Strategy:
- Aylin Özsüyek
- Account & Strategy:
- Natalie Rukuschewitz
- Film Production:
- Smuggler
- Service Production:
- Tempomedia
- Executive Producer US:
- Patrick Milling Smith
- Executive Producer US:
- Allison Kunzman
- Executive Producer UK:
- Fergus Brown
- Executive Producer UK:
- Trine Pillay
- Production Manager:
- Adam Evans
- Producer:
- Gunnar Meyer
- Director:
- Björn Rühmann
- Director of Photography:
- Kolja Brandt
- Editor:
- Alexander Jurkat
- Sound Design:
- Wenke Kleine-Benne
- Sound Design:
- NHB Studios
- Music:
- Gordian Gleiss
- Music:
- Thai Hirschson
- Music:
- NHB Studios
- Color Grading:
- Toby Tomkins
- Color:
- Cheat
- Post Production:
- Cheat