Heart-stopping moment heroic coach rushes to save swimmer who passed out in water
24 June 2022, 12:23
Anita Alvarez passed out while competing in an artistic swimming competition in Budapest.
Andrea Fuentes, a four-time Olympic gold medal winner turned coach, has been branded a 'hero' after she rushed into a swimming pool to save a swimmer who had passed out.
The swimmer, 25-year-old Anita Alvarez, was performing a solo free routine at the FINA World Aquatic Championships as part of Team USA when she fainted and started sinking to the bottom of the pool.
Acting fast, her coach Andrea jumped into the pool fully clothed and began swimming towards Anita's lifeless body before pulling her to the water's surface and dragging her body from the pool.
Another swimmer, who was waiting on the pool sidelines, also jumped in to help rescue the athlete.
Andrea then started giving the two-time Olympian CPR until medics and the team doctor took over.
Thanks to Andrea's quick-thinking, Anita made a full recovery.
The sport of artistic swimming requires athletes to hold their breath for a considerable amount of time, meaning that passing out happens quite a lot.
Talking to Good Morning America following the incident, the coach explained: "The sport is extremely hard, sometimes people pass out because our job is to discover our limits, that's what we do as athletes."
She also spoke to Spanish newspaper Marca, where she said: "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, but now she's fine. She has to rest."
Andrea also offered an update on Anita's situation, posting a statement on the USA Artistic Swimming Instagram page.
She wrote: "Anita is okay - the doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc… all is okay.
"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.
"Anita feels good now and the doctors also say she is okay. 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."
