Budapest, Hungary- Artistic swimmer, Anita Alvarez, yesterday lost consciousness as she was competing in the final of the women’s solo free event at the world swimming championships.
Her coach, Andrea Fuentes, realized something was amiss and rushed to her aid, fully clothed, and divided into the water, pulling her back to the surface.
“When I saw her sinking, I looked at the rescuers, but I saw that they were stunned. They didn’t react. 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.
It felt like a whole hour. I said things weren’t right, I was shouting at the lifeguards to get into the water, but they didn’t catch what I said or they didn’t understand. It was a big scare!
I was scared because I saw she wasn’t breathing, but now she is doing very well. Anita is okay, the Doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal, heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels and blood pressure.
We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports. In Marathon, cycling, and cross country, we all have seen images, where some athletes don’t make it to the finish line and others, help them to get there.
Our sport is no different than others, just in a pool, we push through limits and sometimes we find them. Anita feels good now and the doctors also say she is ok,” said Fuentes.
It is not the first time the United States swimmer has fainted in the pool. Last year, Alvarez lost consciousness during an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona, Spain where Fuentes also rescued her.
