Samia Yusuf Omar

Death and legacy On 19 August 2012, the Corriere della Sera reported that Samia had died while on her way to Italy on a boat from Libya. The information came from her compatriot and fellow runner Abdi Bile, and was "difficult to verify" according to the newspaper. The story came to light during the 2012 Summer Olympics, although Omar's death had occurred earlier that year in April. The Huffington Post reported that Qadijo Aden Dahir, the deputy chairman for Somalia's athletics federation, had confirmed that Omar had drowned off the Libyan seaboard while trying to reach Italy from her home in Ethiopia. Qadijo added that "it's a sad death... She was our favourite for the London Olympics".

Exact details of her death eventually came to light; she boarded a packed boat with 70 other people in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach Italy. The boat soon ran out of petrol and was adrift off the coast of Libya. When an Italian Navy vessel arrived to offer assistance, it threw ropes over the side to the refugees. In the chaos that ensued as people attempted to grab the ropes, Omar was knocked into the sea, where witnesses saw her treading water for a while, but eventually drowned. which was translated into over a dozen languages, becoming an international bestseller. The English language edition, translated by Anne Milano Appel, was published in 2016 by Penguin Press and Faber & Faber. In 2015, German graphic novelist Reinhard Kleist published his graphic novel Der Traum von Olympia – Die Geschichte von Samia Yusuf Omar (An Olympic Dream – The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar) at Carlsen Verlag. It was named the Luchs book of the year for 2015. The graphic novel was translated into English and published by SelfMadeHero in 2016.

Catozzella's novel was adapted into the 2024 feature film Samia by director Yasemin Şamdereli in collaboration with Italian-Somali artist Deka Mohamed Osman, with the screenplay co-written by Catozzella, Şamdereli, and her sister Nesrin Şamdereli. Ilham Mohamed Osman stars as Samia, with Riyan Roble portraying young Samia. Shot in Somali and English, the film was an international co-production by Italy, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. The film premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Jury Mention, and won the Audience Prize at Filmfest München 2024. A new edition of Catozzella's novel was also published in 2024 by Penguin Press to coincide with the film's release.