American Swimmer Rescued by Coach After Fainting During World Championships

An American artistic swimmer was rescued by her quick-reacting coach after fainting in the water during the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The terrifying moment occurred as swimmer Anita Alvarez and her partner, Lindi Schroeder, were finishing their routine. Alvarez, a 25-year-old from upstate New York, suddenly sank to the bottom of the pool. Team USA coach Andrea Fuentes immediately dove into the pool to rescue Alvarez.

(OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

(OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Fuentes pulled Alvarez up to the side of the pool where the swimmer could receive medical attention.

(OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Incredibly, this is not the first time Fuentes has had to save Alvarez. According to Reuters, Fuentes also had to jump into the pool to save Alvarez during an Olympic qualifying event last year.

In an interview following the event, Fuentes said she tried to get the lifeguards to react to what was happening but eventually took matters into her own hands.

“When a swimmer finishes their routine, the first thing they want to do is breathe and so I saw that instead of going up, she was going down and I told myself, ‘Something is going on,’ and I called for the lifeguards, like, ‘Go into the pool, can’t you see she’s going down in the water?’

“And they weren’t reacting, so after a couple of seconds, I went in as fast as I could.

“I don’t think I’ve swum as fast ever before, even when I got Olympic medals and well, in the end, I was able to get her up and she wasn’t breathing … In the end, everything came out OK.”

Fuentes announced on the U.S. Artistic Swimming Team Instagram page that Alvarez would rest Thursday and be evaluated to determine whether she could continue in the tournament on Friday. She also gave a status update on the swimmer’s current condition.

“Anita is okay — the doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc … all is okay,” Fuentes wrote.

“We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports. Marathon, cycling, 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,” Fuentes continued.

“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 okay.”

Alvarez is a veteran U.S. Olymoic performer. She competed and placed 9th at the 2016 Games in Rio and 13th at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.