US swimmer rescued by coach after fainting in pool during world championships

A coach just saved a swimmer’s life after she fainted in the water during a competition.

Anita Alvarez, 25, an Olympic artistic swimmer, was in the middle of her routine at the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, when she lost consciousness and began sinking to the bottom of the pool.

Her Team USA swimming coach, Andrea Fuentes, realized something was wrong, and she dove into the pool fully clothed to rescue Alvarez.

The dramatic rescue was captured on camera, with underwater photos showing Alvarez drifting to the bottom of the pool and Fuentes, and later another person, pulling her up to the surface.

Alvarez was placed on a stretcher and attended to by medical staff.

Fuentes, a former Olympian herself, later shared an update on Alvarez’s condition on the US Artistic Swimming Instagram page.

“Anita is okay — the doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc… all is okay,” she wrote.

“We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports,” she added. “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," she said.

Fuentes also said Alvarez “feels good now” and is resting all day Thursday in the hopes of regaining her strength for the team finals.

This isn’t the first time Alvarez has lost consciousness during a competition. She also fainted briefly in the water during an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona last year, when she was also rescued by Fuentes.