A gold-worthy rescue.
Following Olympian Anita Alvarez‘s frightening fainting incident in the pool in Budapest, the Team USA coach who dramatically jumped in to save the artistic swimmer described the experience as a “difficult nightmare.”
Andrea Fuentes39 People that when she spotted the athlete sinking to the bottom of the pool during the 2022 World Aquatics Championships on June 22, her “only goal was to fix it.”
“I thought that she was just doing a huge effort and I was proud of her because that’s the world champs, it’s the final,” she recalled, noting that she noticed Alvarez’s feet were a little bit more pale than usual. She’s pushing herself to the limit, that’s what I felt.
It wasn’t until the 26-year-old didn’t come up for a breath after the end of her routine that Fuentes knew something was seriously wrong.
She explained that “I knew she wasn’t okay” because it was important for athletes to keep their lungs open after finishing. “So I recognized immediately that she had passed out as soon as her body went to sleep.”
Elle added that she knows her so well and sees her for a lot more than just a few hours each day.