Mardini visited Tokyo's Organizing Committee on Tuesday. She described how she fled from the war-torn country 2 years ago. She's now based in Germany under refugee status.
"I felt that I'm actually training a lot in school but I can't go there every day. Sometimes I go back from the middle of the day because there is a bomb attack," she says.
The International Olympic Committee introduced the first-ever refugee team at the Rio games. In Rio, Mardini competed in the women's 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle. She's trying hard to qualify again for the games in Tokyo, as the IOC is expected to allow another team of refugees in 2020.
"I'm not only swimming for me now, but I'm swimming for a lot of people who put faith in me and I'm representing a lot of refugees and people around the world. So I'm not going to stop until I make it," says Mardini.
Mardini says her goal is to place in the top 20 in Tokyo.