American swimmer Anita Alvarez is lucky to be alive after she fainted while competing at the World Championships and had to be rescued by her coach in stunning scenes on Wednesday.
The synchronised swimmer, 25, was competing in the final of the women’s solo free event when she fell unconscious and sank to the bottom of the pool in Budapest.
Her coach Andrea Fuentes leapt into the water and dragged her back to safety with the help of a male lifeguard.Alvarez regained consciousness soon after being rescued from the pool, received immediate first aid and is reportedly recovering well.
Amazingly, it is the second time Alvarez has fainted in a pool during a competition, with Fuentes again coming to her aid during the Olympics qualifying event in Barcelona.
Fuentes, speaking on radio in Spanish yesterday, said she realised something was wrong when Alvarez ‘went down and didn’t react’ rather than coming up after her routine. ‘When a swimmer finishes, the first thing they want to do is breathe,’ she said.
The coach said she motioned to lifeguards for help but they did not see her, ‘so I jumped in myself.I went there as fast as I could. I went in even faster than when I was going for Olympic medals.’
Fuentes said Alvarez ‘was not breathing’ when she reached her but was revived and checked for signs of damage after the terrifying incident.’Oxygen, glucose, heart, blood pressure, everything’s fine,’ she said, adding that Alvarez will rest today before returning to the pool because ‘she has to swim the final’.
Anita Alvarez lies at the bottom of the pool in the Budapest World Championships after fainting mid competition yesterday
Alvarez’s coach Andrea Fuentes said she had to leap in because ‘the lifeguards weren’t doing it’
Anita Alvarez is rescued by her heroic coach Andrea Fuentes after losing consciousness and sinking to the bottom of the pool at the World Championships in Budapest on Thursday
Another swimmer jumped in to help Fuentes after she got Alvarez’s head above the water
A member of Team USA also jumped in to help drag Alvarez to the surface with the lifeguards accused of not doing anything to help
Alvarez (centre) regained consciousness soon after being rescued and is recovering well
It is not known what caused Alvarez to faint but synchronised swimmers often have to hold their breath for a long time underwater
It’s not the first time the swimmer has fainted in the pool – she did so in Barcelona last year, and Fuentes also saved her on that occasion
The Olympic athlete gained consciousness shortly after she was dragged from the bottom of the pool by her heroic coach
The American swim team were left visibly shaken by the horrific near miss
Members of the US swim team watching the event were seen shouting as they watched on in horror as Alvarez fainted in the pool at the end of her routine
This is the second time Alvarez has fainted in a pool during a competition, with Fuentes again coming to her aid during the Olympics qualifying event in Barcelona (pictured)
Coach Fuentes dived into the pool in Barcelona to save Anita Alvarez after she fainted during the Olympic qualifying last year
Coach Fuentes and one of Alvarez’s teammates help the 25-year-old synchronised swimmer out of the water after she fainted while performing a routine
‘It was a big scare.I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren’t doing it,’ Fuentes said afterwards.
‘I was scared because I saw she wasn’t breathing, but now she is doing very well. Anita is doing much better.’
The American swim team was visibly distressed by the horrific incident and were seen consoling each other by the pool afterwards.
The coach said in an interview on radio in Spanish: ‘We have looked at many things and the pressure is good.We’ve done a CT scan on his brain, she’s fine.
‘It has been, as you know, sometimes we see it happing in sport, cyclists, marathons in athletics vomit many times. She told me why?
‘I said, as athletes, we dedicate ourselves to discovering where the limit is and sometimes we find it, and today you have found it, you have gone so far that your body said, girl, don’t ask me anything else.’
She added: ‘In our sport it happens sometimes, when we go without breathing for a long time, with very high pulses and sometimes the oxygen not getting where it has to get, we faint.
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‘But it is that we spend many hours in sync. What happens is, we do exercises to endure as much as possible for the competition, and today it happened during the competition.’
USA Artistic Swimming said in a statement: ‘Watching yesterday’s medical emergency of 2x Olympian Anita Alvarez and subsequent rescue by coach Andrea Fuentes was heartbreaking for our community.
‘She gave an exceptional solo performance and competed brilliantly in four preliminary and three final competitions across six days.
‘Anita has been evaluated by medical staff and will continue to be monitored.She is feeling much better and using today to rest.
‘Whether or not she will swim in the free team final on Friday, June 24th will be determined by Anita and expert medical staff.’
Alvarez is seen moments before fainting as she competed in the Women Solo Free Final at the Budapest World Championships
The synchronised swimmer, who competed in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, is seen on the floor at the start of her routine
Alvarez initially appeared well as she performed her routine but the problems started when she went underwater
Fuentes also saved Alvarez when she fainted during an event in Barcelona in 2021 (pictured)
The 26-year-old, pictured alongside her coach Fuentes (left), was born in Buffalo, New York, and began synchronised swimming after graduating high school
Fuentes said in a post that doctors had checked all of Alvarez’s vital signs and she ‘feels good’ after the scare in the pool
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