Tragedy was narrowly avoided at the World Aquatics Championships on Wednesday after artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez fainted following her routine in Budapest, Hungary.
United States representative Alvarez, 25, lost consciousness immediately after her artistic routine in the solo free final and sank to the bottom of the pool. Quick-thinking coach Andrea Fuentes leapt in to save her star before another male swimmer came to lend a hand.
Fuentes' first priority was to get Alvarez's face above the surface before moving her out of the water, and the stricken swimmer soon regained consciousness. The U.S. team were visibly shaken to the side of the pool as their comrade received treatment.
This isn't the first time Fuentes has come to her charge's rescue following a similar incident. She also jumped in when Alvarez fainted in the wake of her routine at an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona last year.
"Anita is okay," wrote Fuentes on Instagram following Wednesday's close call. "The doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal - [her] heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, et cetera… all is OK.
"We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports [such as] 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."
Fuentes—a former synchronised swimmer who won four Olympic medals across two Olympic Games (three silver, one bronze)—went on to say Alvarez "feels good now," adding she had been cleared by doctors. "Tomorrow she will rest all day and will decide with the doctor if she can swim free team finals or not," she added.
Japan's Yukiko Inui was ultimately named the winner of Wednesday's solo free final, while Alvarez finished seventh. Buffalo-born Alvarez was targeting her first World Championship medal, having previously won two bronzes at the 2019 Pan American Games.
Alvarez's routine was "her best performance ever," Fuentes added. "She just pushed through her limits and she found them."
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