During her routine at the World Championships, a professional US artistic swimmer passed out and had to be rescued from the water by her coach.
On Wednesday in Budapest, 25-year-old Anita Alvarez, lost consciousness while competing in the women’s solo free event final.
Andrea Fuentes, her instructor, jumped into the water to pull her back to the surface as another man assisted.
Soon after emerging from the water, Alvarez regained consciousness and was given immediate first aid.
According to Ms. Fuentes’ Instagram post, she said she is “ok and the doctors also said she is fine”
Alvarez will be examined by doctors on Thursday before a decision is made about whether or not she will compete in Friday’s team event, according to Ms. Fuentes, who posted the message on US Artistic Swimming’s Instagram page.
The Team USA swimmer has fainted in the water before.
Alvarez lost consciousness during an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona last year. Ms. Fuentes also assisted in her rescue, and Alvarez eventually came in seventh.
After the incident in Budapest on Wednesday, the coach told reporters it was a “huge scare” since it seemed Alvarez had stopped breathing.
It felt like an entire hour, she said to a radio station in Spanish. They either didn’t hear me or didn’t comprehend when I indicated that something wasn’t right and yelled for the lifeguards to enter the ocean.
“She wasn’t breathing. I went as quickly as I could as if it were an Olympic final.”
As they observed the event, her teammates appeared to be in anguish.
