Redefining refugees with Yusra Mardini and Gatkuoth Puok Thiep

If you have a look at Yusra Mardini’s Instagram feed – there are
clues about what she does: pictures of swimming training and plenty
of selfies. She’s clearly an international standard athlete. But
her story runs deep – after fleeing Syria and swimming for 10km
alongside a boat of displaced people looking for a new start, she
ended up in Germany training for the Olympics. She refuses to be
defined by her status as a refugee and wants you to reassess what
you think about the word too. In a huge act of kindness, marathon
runner Gatkuoth Puok Thiep gave up his place on the Refugee Olympic
Team. He lost his father, mother and sister to the war in South
Sudan. His inspiring story, although tragic, is full of hope about
the future. We sat down with both for World Refugee Day. Don’t
forget to subscribe for more of the best Olympic talking points
every week. And leave a five star review on iTunes and other places
if you liked what you heard. We want you to think just like an
Olympian. LINKS: SPORTSPIEL: https://sportspielonline.com/ BOOK:
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/yusra-mardini/butterfly WE ARE
ONE DOCUMENTARY:
https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/features/we-are-one/