Kuni .G. Isaac
An unforgettable yet fearful scenario took place on Thursday at the world aquatic championship at Budapest as American swimmer Anita Alvarez fainted during routine.
Anita Alvarez, 25 according to sources was competing in the women’s solo free artistic swimming finals in Budapest, Hungary when she surprisingly lost consciousness at the middle of her routine and began sinking to the bottom of the competition pool,
Fortunately for the athlete a member of team USA, Coach Andrea Fuentes dove into the pool without hesitation and pull her Alvarez to the surface, she also administered CPR until the medics and team doctor were able to take over.
Team USA, who were watching the competition inside the arena, looked on clearly shaken by the event.
Fuentes, later described her thoughts as Alvarez sank
“When you finish, you really want to breathe because you hold your breath for a long time and the first thing you want to do is breathe,” Fuentes said. “And I thought she was going down, so I was like, immediately, [I] knew that something was happening so I went as fast as I could. And I reach her and grab her to the surface and tried to calm her down and make her breathe.”
“Anita is okay,” Fuentes said in a statement after the terrifying incident. “The doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc… all is okay.”
Fuentes continued: “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. Our sport is no different than others, just in a pool, we push through limits and sometimes we find them.”
Alvarez of Team USA is currently under medical observation even irrespective of being rescued, Alvarez still managed to finish the competition in seventh place with a final score of 87.6333.
Anita Alvarez also suffered through a similar event at the FINA Olympic Games Artistic Swimming Qualification Tournament in Barcelona in June 2021, she fainted and Fuentes came to her immediate aid in the pool again on that occasion.
“Anita feels good now and the doctors also say she is okay,” concluded Fuentes. “Tomorrow she will rest all day and will decide with the doctor if she can swim free team finals or not. Thank you for all of your well wishes for Anita.”
At the moment although Alvarez has been declared well and fitted for competitions it is still not clear if she will continue in this year’s tournaments.
Photos: Oli Scarff/ Dean Mouhtaropoulos /AFP via Getty Images
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