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Two-time Olympic swimmer Anita Alvarez fainted and sank to the bottom of the pool during Wednesday’s World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. Her U.S. team coach, Andrea Fuentes, dived in to save her, grabbing her lame body and bringing her back to the surface of the water.
A series of photographs captured the dramatic rescue. An image shows Fuentes, fully clothed, reaching out underwater as she tries to grab the unconscious swimmer. Another shows the intertwined couple as Fuentes guides them both into the air.
Alvarez received urgent medical attention after the rescue.
Following the events, Fuentes accused the rescuers of the site of not acting quickly enough in the face of danger.
“It was a big scare,” Fuentes told Spanish newspaper Marca. “I had to jump because the lifeguards didn’t.”
Alvarez was competing in the women’s singles freestyle final when she stopped breathing, causing widespread concern among her teammates and spectators at the venue and on social media.
In an Instagram update on Wednesday, the official U.S. artistic swimming account shared a statement from Fuentes that Alvarez had been thoroughly reviewed by doctors and was recovering. He thanked people for their good wishes and said the athlete “was feeling good now.”
“Everything is fine,” he wrote, before highlighting the risk swimmers, like other athletes, face while performing.
“We have all seen images where some athletes do not reach the finish line and others help them reach it. Our sport is no different from the others, just in a pool, “he said.” We push the boundaries and sometimes we find them. “
Alvarez, of Tonawanda, New York, began figure swimming, more widely known as synchronized swimming until 2017, at the age of five. She is now considered a veteran expert and a member of the U.S. team, competing in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were rescheduled in 2021 amid the pandemic.
Wednesday was the second time Alvarez, 25, fainted while swimming. It is also the second time Fuentes jumps to save her.
In Barcelona last year, the swimmer fainted during a qualifying test for the Olympic Games, which caused her trainer to dive and pull her out of the water. It’s still unclear what caused Alvarez to sink, but the sport often requires swimmers to hold their breath.
“Figure swimmers need clean air when they have a chance to breathe,” the information says on the team’s official website.
American artistic swimmers, separated and out of the pool, continue to try to stay in sync
During the coronavirus pandemic, athletes around the world were forced to find alternative training methods, including the U.S. artistic swimming team that was forced to train alone, sometimes standing on its own. bedroom, perfecting leg movements, even when there were pools across the country. Closed.
Fuentes told The Washington Post that the team resorted to virtual group workouts, sometimes accompanied by other international swimmers. Alvarez, he said, taught the group a TikTok dance.
It is still unclear whether Alvarez will participate in Friday’s team event. Doctors are due to assess him on Thursday.