Anita Alvarez of Team United States is attended to by medical staff following her women's solo free final performance on day six of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships. Photo / Getty Images
Anita Alvarez of Team United States is attended to by medical staff following her women's solo free final performance on day six of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships. Photo / Getty Images
Tragedy was narrowly avoided at the world championships in Budapest after American Anita Alvarez fainted in the pool mid-competition and needed to be rescued by her coach.
Alvarez was performing in the final of the women's solo free artistic event but lost consciousness during her routine and sank towards thebottom of the pool.
Her coach Andrea Fuentes dived in and was helped to bring Alvarez to the surface, where the 25-year-old received immediate medical attention.
"It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren't doing it. I was scared because I saw she wasn't breathing, but now she is doing very well," Fuentes told Spanish publication MARCA.
"Anita is [doing] much better."
Incredible underwater photos captured the frightening episode.
It is not the first time Alvarez has fainted in the water. At an Olympic qualifier in Barcelona last year, she lost consciousness during her artistic swimming routine.
"Unfortunately, I've seen it happen to her before," Alvarez's mother Karen told WIVB after that incident in Spain.
Absolutely incredible images from @oliscarff today.
A member of Team USA rescues Anita Alvarez from the bottom of the pool after Alvarez fainted during her solo free artistic swimming routine at the Budapest 2022 World Aquatics Championships pic.twitter.com/Tb5pHzcCQ8
"Never in competition, though. I knew right away. On their last element, I could tell something was up.
"It was hard to watch, definitely."
A fully-clothed Fuentes dived in to help on that occasion too.
The current competition in Budapest represents Alvarez's third trip to the world championships. She ended up finishing seventh, while Japan's Yukiko Inui won gold.
