Syrian refugee Olympic swimmer becomes UNHCR ambassador

FILE PHOTO: Rio Olympics - Olympic Park - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 01/08/2016. Syrian refugee team swimmer Yusra Mardini, 18, from Syria practices at the Olympic swimming venue. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

GENEVA (Reuters) - She escaped the bombs of Syria, and almost drowned when her dinghy capsized off Greece, but Yusra Mardini then competed at the Olympics and has now been appointed a U.N. goodwill ambassador to be a voice for people seeking shelter from war.

Mardini had to swim for hours after capsizing in the Mediterranean with her sister. They saved 20 people who eventually reached the Greek island of Lesbos.