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Yusra Mardini And Boyfriend Vaggelis Makrygiannis Are Both Olympian

Author

William Howard

Published Jan 01, 2026

Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini and her boyfriend Vaggelis Makrygiannis are both elite swimmers. Vaggelis swims with ANOA all year long.

Mardini’s boyfriend finished in the top five in five events at the Greek National Open Championships in 2018, where he also set four personal best times. He has further traveled the world as a representative of the Greek Swimming Federation.

Likewise, he achieved five career bests in the 2018 Greek Winter National Championships, finishing in the top four of four events.

Well, Makrygiannis has been supportive of his partner and was by her side during the world premiere of “The Swimmers” in September.

The plot revolves around two young sisters who embark on a perilous journey, putting their hearts and swimming abilities to heroic use, from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Yusra Mardini Boyfriend Vaggelis Makrygiannis Is A Professional Swimmer

Yusra Mardini has an athletic boyfriend as Vaggelis Makrygiannis competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Greek swimmer, who attended USC Trojans as its Marshall business student, graduated from Papaxaralampeio High School. 

During the 2020–21 season, Makrygiannis did not represent USC in competition. However, he made his Olympic debut for Greece in Tokyo by swimming the backstroke leg (54.07) in the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay.

Similar to this, Makrygiannis finished 42nd in the 100-yard backcourt (46.74) and 37th in the 200-yard backcourt at the NCAA Championships in 2022.

Additionally, he supported the Trojan relay teams’ performances, which included placing 15th in the 400-yard free relay (3:04.56), 19th in the 200-yard medley relay (1:23.77), and 19th in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:20.03).

His Quest For Olympic Gory

Evangelos “Vaggelis” Makrygiannis, a competitive swimmer, had damaged his body, missing two podiums and failing to qualify for the individual races in his strongest event.

According to uscannenbergmedia.com, his coach feels he has the potential to become one of the quickest freshman swimmers in NCAA history. Last year, he healed totally from a rib ailment and swapped his medicines for 20 hours of exercise each week.

Despite his poor grades, he has been de-prioritizing homework to prepare for the next battle on the world’s largest stage, the Olympic Games in Paris, in 2024.

Makrygiannis Had Broken His 11th Rib On His Left Side

Earlier in 2021, it appeared Makrygiannis would not compete at all. He was at a training camp in the French tourist resort of Canet-en-Roussillon with the French national team.

The day after finishing his training, he found himself unable to move and in pain while trying to perform something physically. When he returned to Greece, an X-ray revealed that he’d cracked his 11th rib on his left side.

His Greek trainers permitted him to skip two of his three events at the European Championships in Budapest. He stated he “was compelled to swim” in his last race since he “was there with the national team to represent the squad, therefore he had to complete at least a race.”

Yusra Mardini And Vaggelis Makrygiannis Relationship Timeline

Mardini and her partner made their relationship public earlier this year via an Instagram birthday post. However, the couple appears to have started dating around late 2021.

Even though their relationship was made public this year, the pair has shared separate images on their Instagram pages that share the same destination and location.

Last November, the pair spent time in Malibu, California, where they both had individual photos taken at the Laguna Beach resort.

Similarly, Mardini uploaded a photo of herself in Athens, Greece, over the Christmas holidays on December 25, 2021, implying she was with her partner at the time.

On February 24, 2022

Mardini released a video on TikTok in which she displayed what her lover expected vs. what he got. Though her boyfriend’s photograph was not included in the video, she used it to affirm that she was in a relationship.

March 5, 2022

Makrygiannis made his Instagram relationship public in March this year, posting photographs taken with his girlfriend throughout their relationship.

He captioned the photo, wishing his partner a happy 24th birthday and proclaiming himself to be the luckiest guy alive.

March 17, 2022

Mardini posted a 14-second TikTok video of herself dancing to Marina’s Prima Donna song in the pool. The footage also included her partner, who was swaying to the rhythm.

June 6, 2022

Well, the official photos of Mardini and her boyfriend were posted on her TikTok account on June 6. She captioned the video, stating, “Hands off my clownfish.”

Likewise, many of her followers commented beneath the photo, noting the duo looked adorable together.

June 18, 2022

Mardini celebrated her boyfriend’s birthday and made her romance public on Instagram with a handful of photos. She simply wished him a happy birthday, along with a heart emoji.

July 24, 2022

The cute pair doesn’t discuss much their relationship in public, but they have divulged a few insights about it. In a TikTok video, Mardini pranked her boyfriend; the title reads, “TikTok fake called on my boyfriend and watched his reaction.”

Basically, her boyfriend did know it was a fake call from TikTok. 

September 2022, In Toronto, Canada

Mardini and her partner, Makrygiannis, attended the world premiere of “The Swimmers” at the Toronto Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala.

According to the couple’s posts on their respective social media pages, they spent time in Toronto, Canada, from September 9 to September 19.

Yusra Mardini Is Two Years Older Than Her Boyfriend Makrygiannis

Mardini and Makrygiannis are two years apart in age. Her boyfriend, born on June 18, 2000, is 22 years old, while she turned 24 this March.

Similarly, her swimmer partner is a native of Athens, Greece, and is 6-foot-3 inches tall, according to his athlete profile.

The couple recently made their romance public with a birthday post, wishing each other a happy birthday with a series of couple photographs. Mardini and her partner each posted their first Instagram post in June and March, respectively.

Vaggelis Makrygiannis Father Advised Him To Quit Swimming

Makrygiannis was born to his parents, Vasileois Makrygiannis and Maria Souza, in Athens, Greece. He also has a younger brother named Antonis Makrygiannis. 

His parents are now pleased with their son’s vocation; however, it has been stated that his father has advised him to stop swimming. Upon a gap year after high school, his father counseled him to “quit swimming, and study as swimming will not provide him anything.”

In comparison to his spring semester training in France, Makrygiannis praised his time at USC swimming and studying. He’d enroll in Zoom classes on the other side of the world, encircled by current and prospective Olympians, and be the only one studying and taking examinations.

According to USC Annenberg Media, he commits to a 20-hour-per-week training plan, as opposed to the over 50 hours he put in in Greece. He can swim 3,000 to 9,000 meters daily, which is roughly twice the length of the LAX runway.