After losing consciousness Wednesday at the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was rescued from the bottom of the pool by her coach.
Coach Andrea Fuentes jumped into the pool after seeing the 25-year-old swimmer from upstate New York sink to the bottom at the end of her routine in the women’s solo free event, which caused a life-threatening situation.
Fuentes said Alvarez was under water for roughly two minutes, with water filling her lungs.
A former Olympic medalist from Spain, Fuentes told the Spanish newspaper Marca, “I jumped into the water again because I saw that no one, no lifeguard, was jumping in. I got a little scared because she wasn’t breathing.”
Fuentes, a four-time Olympic medalist in synchronized swimming, lifted Alvarez to the water’s surface before helping bring her to the pool’s edge.
The coach explained that she saw that Alvarez’s feet appeared more pale than usual while the swimmer was finishing her routine, which grabbed her attention.
When she saw Alvarez drifting down rather than coming up to breathe, she immediately dove into the pool.
“I was already paying attention, and then I saw her going down. I didn’t even ask myself if I should go or not. I just thought that I was not going to wait,” Fuentes said.
When asked whether she thought the lifeguards did not respond fast enough to the problem, Fuentes said the situation was easier for her to assess because “I know Anita very well, and I know the sport very well.”
“They did their job. I did mine,” Fuentes said.
Medical staff attended to Alvarez beside the pool, and she was carried off on a stretcher.
Fuentes told CNN that Alvarez was doing “really good” on Thursday, and medical examinations showed everything was “under control.”
Doctors had “checked all vitals, and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc.,” the swimming coach said.
It was not the first time Fuentes saved Alvarez’s life.
Along with Alvarez’s swim partner, Lindi Schroeder, Fuentes leaped into the pool during an Olympic qualification event last year and pulled Alvarez to safety.
Alvarez also competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.