Andrea Fuentes, after rescuing swimmer Anita Alvarez: “I tried to slap her awake”

Andrea Fuentes and Anita Alvarez were the main protagonists of the most dramatic moment of the World Swimming Championships in Budapest. And it is that Andrea Fuentes, current coach of the US synchronized swimming team, had to come to the rescue of her pupil after she – fainted – began to sink into the water after completing an exercise.

Given that the medical assistance did not react, the Spanish Andrea Fuentes did not think twice: she jumped into the pool with pants and a shirt, she dived to the bottom of the pool and dragged the swimmer Anita Álvarez to the surface. “She has been a good substitute, I had to throw myself because the lifeguards did not do it,” explained the quadruple Olympic medalist in Beijing and London after recovering from the scare.

For Andrea Fuentes, the moment of rescue seemed eternal. “I think she has been at least two minutes without breathing because her lungs were full of water, but we have been able to take her to a good place, she has vomited the water, coughed and that’s it,” she later explained to Rac1. The US coach even tried to “wake her up by slapping her and opening her jaw. I was scared because I saw that Anita Álvarez was not breathing, but she is already very well, at the top », she acknowledged to radio media.

Anita Álvarez, recovered

After a few dramatic minutes, Anita Álvarez was transferred on a stretcher to the medical post set up in the enclosure, where the doctors assessed the swimmer’s state of health. Later, the US swim team confirmed that Anita Álvarez was in good condition.

Her coach, Andrea Fuentes, explained that the American swimmer had fainted due to the effort made in the pool and that is why she was going to rest this Thursday. Of course, Anita Alvarez showed her intention to take part in the team final that will be played tomorrow, Friday, as long as she has the permission of the doctors and passes the tests that are going to be carried out on her.

It is not the first time that Anita Álvarez has fainted in official competition. In fact, the US swimmer experienced a similar episode again at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Barcelona last year. In these World Swimming Championships in Budapest, the third world championship in which she participates, she has relived the same nightmare.