9 athletes who have risen above themselves

Resetting your own limits, overcoming obstacles and demanding more from your body than you ever thought possible - sport is so much more than just a hobby for us. It's a way to transcend yourself, inspire people around the globe, and create something meaningful as an individual.

We introduce you to 9 athletes who have defied all the odds the world throws at them - and have been rewarded for it.

1. Yusra Mardini
2. Francis Ngannou
3. Simone Biles
4. Chloe Kim
5. Kelly Cartwright
6. Mike Schultz
7. Sifan Hassan
8. Ana Quirot
9. Aries Merritt

When the boat threatened to capsize, Yusra and her sister jumped into the sea, not knowing how far away the saving shore would be. They began to swim and dragged the boat behind them - for almost three hours until they reached Greece.

Via detours, Yusra Mardini and her family arrived in Berlin. Here she had only one goal: to swim again! The club Wasserfreunde Spandau was amazed at the trial training. When the IOC (International Olympic Committee) put together a team of refugee athletes for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, she was part of it.

Today, Yusra is a Good Will Ambassador for UNHCR. She is the youngest ambassador ever. Her Hollywood story was recently made into a film.

At the age of 26, he fled to Europe, where he spent the first two months in prison in Spain after entering illegally. From there he moved to Paris. He spent the first time homeless, but then met the professional MMA fighter Francis Carmont. The latter rekindled the love for boxing in him and convinced him to switch to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Through Carmont, Francis met his future coach. Fernand Lopez, also from Cameroon and a former MMA fighter, recognized the young man's potential and not only trained him for free, but also let him sleep in the gym.

Francis took advantage of this opportunity and became the first UFC heavyweight champion from Africa in 2021. Out of gratitude, he is now involved in helping children in his home country. The Francis Ngannou Foundation now runs the first MMA studio in Cameroon and is primarily aimed at children who would otherwise end up on the streets.

But Biles is also a true role model away from the gym. She stands up as the voice of BIPOC and all women in sports, openly criticizing discrimination, sexism and violence in sports. In 2018, as part of the #metoo movement, she made public the sexual assaults of her team doctor, Larry Nassar, which affected over a hundred other female athletes. In 2021, she spoke to Congress about what happened, accusing legal authorities and gymnastics officials of looking the other way despite evidence.

And she continues to struggle with her mental health as well. In 2021, she dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics. She spoke openly about her challenges and ADHD, and encouraged competitive athletes to be mindful of themselves and their limits, which sparked a public debate.

Due to her consistent positive engagements Simone Biles is part of our list of top female athletes who will change society for the better.

For a long time, the Asian-American athlete had to suffer from racist discrimination, some of which came from fellow athletes and officials. After therapy, she decided to stop hiding her doubts and negative experiences. She became a loud voice for inclusion and diversity in sports, advocating for the issues of her generation outside of sports. To do so, she doesn't shy away from publicity or new avenues: to spread her message more broadly in society, she participated in "The Masked Singer" in America and campaigned for more representation of Asian-Americans.

In 2007, Australia brought her into the young talent program for the 2012 Paralympics, but she already qualified for Beijing 2008, where she finished 6th in the 100 metre dash. In 2011, she followed that up with gold in the sprint and long jump at the IPC Athletics World Championships, even setting a world record. She broke that record herself at the London Paralympics in 2012, also taking silver in the 100 meters.

In 2009, she also became the first woman with an above-the-knee amputation to climb Mount Everest. Following her sporting successes, she took part in the Australian version of "Dancing with the Stars" to further raise awareness of the issue of amputation.

He tried out various prostheses, but none were suitable for the unusual stresses of racing. Instead of giving up the sport, he took up his own tools and built his own prosthesis. He geared the mechanics entirely to the dynamic load, the fine motor movements and the power required for his sport. Success proved him right: just seven months after his amputation, he competed in the Supercross event at the Summer XGames with the homemade prosthesis and won silver.

He then founded BioDapt to make his sports prostheses available to other athletes with special requirements. The latest models can withstand dynamic loads up to 230 kg and cover snowboarding, skiing, cycling, off-road motocross, ATV, weight training, horseback riding and water sports. At the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, 16 athletes from 11 countries wore prosthetics from BioDapt. And Mike himself won a gold and a silver medal in snowboarding.

And the marathon itself began anything but favourably for Sifan Hassan. Not only once did she have to take a break to loosen up and stretch her aching hip. Already after the first hour, she lost her running pace. Her competition was strong, including running against Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya and last year's marathon winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia).

But kilometre by kilometre, she fought her way forward. When she started the last lap and saw the leading runners, the crowd went wild. Amid thunderous applause and cheers, Sifan was able to overtake her competitors and, after her three Olympic gold medals in Tokyo over 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, also won the marathon distance in London.

Seven major operations to transplant the skin and treat the wounds later, Ana fought her way back into life and also restarted her athletic career. After two years of healing, she took part in the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg and confidently won her supreme discipline again in the 800 meters. Olympic silver followed in 1996 and another world championship title in 1997.

But with the certainty of a treatment option, ambition returned. Aries Merrit persevered and resumed his usual training in 2014. With success, because in 2015 he won bronze at the World Championships in Beijing. He competed under difficult conditions: Immediately after the tournament, he went back to the hospital, where he received a kidney transplant donated by his sister.