US swimmer Anita Alvarez rescued from World Championship pool after fainting
- The USA artistic team released a statement on social media saying Alvarez had fainted due to the effort expended during the routine
- ‘It was very intense,’ head coach Andrea Fuentes said. ‘I think she was at least two minutes without breathing’
Artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was dramatically rescued from the bottom of the pool by Team USA’s head coach after fainting in a distressing scene at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
Andrea Fuentes leapt in to rescue Alvarez, who had sunk to the bottom of the pool and was not breathing after passing out at the conclusion of her routine during Wednesday night’s solo free final.
“It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren’t doing it,” Fuentes was reported as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca.
Fuentes, dressed not in swimming gear but in shorts and a T-shirt, dived to the bottom of the pool and dragged Alvarez to the surface before being assisted to get the stricken American to the edge of the pool.
“I was scared because I saw she wasn’t breathing, but now she is doing very well,” said Fuentes, a four-time Olympic artistic swimming medallist.
Alvarez was taken on a stretcher to the pool’s medical centre, with teammates and fans appearing to be in shock poolside, with some in tears consoling each other.
“It was very intense,” Fuentes told AS newspaper. “I think she was at least two minutes without breathing because her lungs were full of water.
“But we were able to take her to a good place, she vomited the water, coughed and that was it, but it was a big scare.”
