Sport

Swimmer rescued at world championships after sinking to bottom of pool

Coach dives in fully clothed to pull Anita Alvarez to surface after artistic swimmer fainted

Team USA coach Andrea Fuentes (R) swims to recover Anita Alvarez (L), from the bottom of the pool after Alvarez fainted during the women's solo free artistic swimming finals in Budapest on June 22nd, 2022. Photograph: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Team USA coach Andrea Fuentes (R) swims to recover Anita Alvarez (L), from the bottom of the pool after Alvarez fainted during the women's solo free artistic swimming finals in Budapest on June 22nd, 2022. Photograph: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Thu Jun 23 2022 - 08:59

Artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was the centre of a dramatic episode at the world swimming championships in Budapest on Wednesday when she had to be rescued from the bottom of the pool by her coach after losing consciousness in the water.

American Alvarez had completed her solo free final at the World Aquatics Championships when she fainted and sank to the bottom of the pool. Andrea Fuentes, her coach, quickly realised something was amiss and dived in fully clothed to pull Alvarez up to the surface.

Alvarez, competing at her third world championships, was not breathing when Fuentes dragged her with some assistance to the side of the pool. The swimmer was taken from there to the pool’s medical centre, and Team USA later issued a statement saying she was doing well.

Before fainting, Anita Alvarez of Team United States competes in the women's solo free final on day six of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Alfred Hajos National Aquatics in Budapest, Hungary.
Before fainting, Anita Alvarez of Team United States competes in the women's solo free final on day six of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Alfred Hajos National Aquatics in Budapest, Hungary.
Anita Alvarez faints and starts to sink to the bottom, her reflection seen on the surface
Anita Alvarez faints and starts to sink to the bottom, her reflection seen on the surface
Her coach comes to her rescue
Her coach comes to her rescue
Another swimmer comes to assist
Another swimmer comes to assist
Anita Alvarez is brought to the surface after fainting
Anita Alvarez is brought to the surface after fainting
Anita Alvarez's airways are cleared by her coach after she was brought to the surface
Anita Alvarez's airways are cleared by her coach after she was brought to the surface
Anita Alvarez is taken from the pool by her rescuers and the medical team
Anita Alvarez is taken from the pool by her rescuers and the medical team

Fuentes said that despite the incident, Alvarez still hoped to compete in Friday’s team event.

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“It was a big scare,” Fuentes was reported as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca. “I was scared because I saw she wasn’t breathing, but now she is doing very well.”

“She only had water in her lungs, once she started breathing again everything was OK,” said Fuentes. “It felt like a whole hour. “She wasn’t breathing . . . I went as quickly as I could, as if it were an Olympic final.”

It is not the first time Alvarez has fainted in the pool, according to reports. A similar scene played out at an Olympic qualifier in Spain last year when a fully-clothed Fuentes again jumped into the pool to make a rescue.

At the time, Alvarez’s mother, Karen, said, “Unfortunately, I’ve seen it happen to her before.”

Spaniard Fuentes, a former synchronised swimmer with four Olympic, 16 world championship and 11 European championship medals to her name, is the head coach of the US senior national team. — Guardian