The tragedy was prevented by the swimmer’s coach, who pulled him out of the pool in time.
The artistic swimming competition at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest is about to end in tragedy. American swimmer Anita Alvarez collapsed at the end of her women’s free skate performance and sank to the bottom of the pool.
His coach Andrea Fuentes was able to save the athlete’s life. The four-time Olympic medalist in synchronized swimming immediately jumped into the pool and rushed in with the help of the 25-year-old swimmer.
He lifted Alvarez to the surface and helped him to the edge of the pool. After that, the American received medical care and was carried on a stretcher.
Quick rescue.@AFP Photographers Oli Scarff and Peter Kohalmi took the dramatic rescue of USA’s Anita Alvarez from under the pool when she fainted in the women’s solo free artistic swimming finals at the Budapest 2022 World Aquatics Championships pic.twitter.com/8Y0wo6lSUn
– AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 23, 2022
“I don’t think I’ve ever been very fast before, even when I got Olympic medals. Eventually, I lifted him up and he wasn’t breathing. Soon, a lifeguard came,” Fuentes said. The coach also said that Alvarez is fine, he will rest and consult his doctor if he can participate in the swimming team finals, which are due to be held on Friday, June 24.
Note that this isn’t the first time in Alvarez’s career that he has fainted in competition. Previously, this happened to him during qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. Then Anita’s life was also saved by her coach, who pulled the athlete out of the pool.
Remember that in this discipline at the World Championships in Budapest, Japanese Yukiko Inui won gold, and Ukrainian Marta Fedina won silver. Alvarez, though unconscious, finished in seventh place.
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Source: korrespondent
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
