American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was “not breathing” when she was rescued from the bottom of the pool after fainting at the World Aquatics Championships.
The 25-year-old lost consciousness after completing her solo free final routine in Budapest on Wednesday.
Alvarez’s coach Andrea Fuentes responded to the drama by diving in fully clothed to pull the swimmer to safety.
“It was a big scare,” four-time Olympic medallist Fuentes was reported as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca.
“I was scared because I saw she was not breathing, but now she is doing very well.
“She only had water in her lungs, once she started breathing again everything was OK.”
And speaking to Spanish radio, she said: “It felt like a whole hour. I said things weren’t right, I was shouting at the lifeguards to get into the water, but they didn’t catch what I said or they didn’t understand.
“She wasn’t breathing. I went as quickly as I could, as if it were an Olympic final.”
Alvarez was given medical attention poolside before being taken away on a stretcher.
In a statement on the US Artistic Swimming Instagram page, Fuentes said Alvarez would be assessed by doctors on Thursday before a decision was made on her competing in Friday’s team event.
Fuentes said: “Anita is OK – the doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc… all is OK.
“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 OK.
“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.”
Alvarez, who finished seventh in the final, previously fainted following a routine during an Olympic qualifier in Barcelona last year.
Fuentes also rescued her on that occasion.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here