Marilena Makri was born in Limassol on 18/11/2002. Her involvement with sailing began in the summer of 2009, and very quickly she began to stand out, repeatedly reaching the podium in cup races and championships for younger girls and girls in the Optimist class.

In August 2016, before turning 14, she first came into contact with the Olympic Laser Radial class (later ILCA 6) and won the Cyprus National Championship in all categories—Women, U21, U19, and U17—confirming her rapid competitive development. Intensive training followed, and in August 2017 she finished 10th in the U17 category at the Laser Radial Youth World Championships in the Netherlands—an unprecedented success for women’s Cypriot sailing. Since then, in the international youth competitions she took part in, she consistently finished within the top ten.

At the 2019 Women’s World Championships in Japan, she became the youngest student-athlete worldwide to secure Olympic qualification in sailing. In 2020, at just 18 years old, she was awarded by the Cyprus Olympic Committee as “Best Female Athlete,” alongside the award for “Best Young Female Athlete.”

Shortly before the Tokyo Olympic Games, she won the gold medal at the ILCA 6 U21 European Championships, and in July 2021 she made her first Olympic appearance at the Tokyo Olympic Games, finishing 33rd among 44 athletes. The following month she already began her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, winning the bronze medal at the ILCA 6 U21 World Championships in Poland. In 2022 she added two more important achievements: a silver medal at the U21 European Championships and 4th place at the U21 World Championships.

In April 2024 she secured qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and competed in her second Olympics before turning 22, placing 30th among 43 athletes.

Today she is a first-year student in the Department of Mathematics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and, at the same time, a fourth-year student at Frederick University in Sports Science and Physical Education.