It seems safe to say the second-favorite Olympic team for many Americans will be the Refugee squad, and that’s because of stories like that of swimmer Yusra Mardini.
Mardini, 18, has worked from Syria to Rio through obstacles such as the bombing of her training center, peers being killed, and her family’s departure through a forest flanked by armed smugglers.
MORE: AP on Mardini’s harrowing journey
That she trains in a pool built for Nazi athletes at the 1936 Games is remarkable. That her swimming physically guided her boat of refugees to relative safety is stunning.