Swimmer who fainted in pool is banned from competing in World Championships

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By stefan armitage

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The swimmer who fainted in the pool during the Swimming World Championships in Budapest earlier this week has been banned from competing in Friday's team final.

On Wednesday, swimmer Anita Alvarez fell unconscious having just completed her solo free final at the competition.

What followed next made headlines around the world, as her swimming coach, Andrea Fuentes, dived fully clothed into the pool in order to save Alvarez.

However, despite hoping to compete in Friday's team final, the Daily Mail reports that the International Swimming Federation had ruled that Alvarez cannot compete - just hours before the event was due to begin.

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The Team USA athlete nor her coach have released any statement on the ruling.

Alvarez, 25, has to be dramatically rescued on Wednesday after fainting and sinking to the bottom of the pool.

Images and videos then showed a heroic Fuentes - a four-time Olympic artistic swimming medallist - diving into the pool in order to save her student.

After Fuentes dragged Alvarez to the surface, she was then assisted to get the swimmer to the edge of the pool so she could receive medical attention.

Yahoo Sports add that this is not the first time Alvarez had fainted while competing, with a similar incident occurring at an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona last year.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Xinhua / Alamy]]

In an interview with NBC News, Alvarez recalled her final thoughts before falling unconscious.

"I remember feeling like it was a really great performance," said Alvarez, who placed 7th. "Like, my best one by far and not only just how I performed but just that I was actually enjoying it and really living in the moment, too. So, because of that I feel really happy and really proud."

The swimmer added: "And then at the end, I do remember like the very last arm I did, I gave like, it’s such a simple small arm, but I was like, ‘Give everything until the very end.’ And I did that, and then I remember going down and just being like, kind of like, ‘Uh oh, I don’t feel too great.’ And that’s literally that last thing I remember actually."

She also assured her fans that she is feeling okay.

Per Yahoo Sports, Coach Fuentes later revealed that she believes Alvarez went almost two minutes without breathing.

"I think she was at least two minutes without breathing because her lungs were full of water," Fuentes said. "She vomited the water, coughed and that was it, but it was a big scare."

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Speaking to BBC News, Fuentes also spoke out about the warning signs that first indicated to her that Alvarez was in trouble.

"I saw her feet were a little more white than normal so I thought her blood was not going as normal," Fuentes said. "Normally when you finish what you really want to do is breathe but instead of going up, she was going down.

"It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren't doing it."

After Fuentes realized that Alvarez was in danger, she said that she looked over at the lifeguards. "I saw that they were stunned," she said. "They didn't react. I thought, 'Will you jump in now?' My reflexes kicked in."

Featured image credit: Xinhua / Alamy

Swimmer who fainted in pool is banned from competing in World Championships

vt-author-image

By stefan armitage

Article saved!Article saved!

The swimmer who fainted in the pool during the Swimming World Championships in Budapest earlier this week has been banned from competing in Friday's team final.

On Wednesday, swimmer Anita Alvarez fell unconscious having just completed her solo free final at the competition.

What followed next made headlines around the world, as her swimming coach, Andrea Fuentes, dived fully clothed into the pool in order to save Alvarez.

However, despite hoping to compete in Friday's team final, the Daily Mail reports that the International Swimming Federation had ruled that Alvarez cannot compete - just hours before the event was due to begin.

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/AFPnewsenglish/photos/pcb.5322899907747969/5322896154415011/]]

The Team USA athlete nor her coach have released any statement on the ruling.

Alvarez, 25, has to be dramatically rescued on Wednesday after fainting and sinking to the bottom of the pool.

Images and videos then showed a heroic Fuentes - a four-time Olympic artistic swimming medallist - diving into the pool in order to save her student.

After Fuentes dragged Alvarez to the surface, she was then assisted to get the swimmer to the edge of the pool so she could receive medical attention.

Yahoo Sports add that this is not the first time Alvarez had fainted while competing, with a similar incident occurring at an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona last year.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Xinhua / Alamy]]

In an interview with NBC News, Alvarez recalled her final thoughts before falling unconscious.

"I remember feeling like it was a really great performance," said Alvarez, who placed 7th. "Like, my best one by far and not only just how I performed but just that I was actually enjoying it and really living in the moment, too. So, because of that I feel really happy and really proud."

The swimmer added: "And then at the end, I do remember like the very last arm I did, I gave like, it’s such a simple small arm, but I was like, ‘Give everything until the very end.’ And I did that, and then I remember going down and just being like, kind of like, ‘Uh oh, I don’t feel too great.’ And that’s literally that last thing I remember actually."

She also assured her fans that she is feeling okay.

Per Yahoo Sports, Coach Fuentes later revealed that she believes Alvarez went almost two minutes without breathing.

"I think she was at least two minutes without breathing because her lungs were full of water," Fuentes said. "She vomited the water, coughed and that was it, but it was a big scare."

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/AFPnewsenglish/photos/pcb.5322899907747969/5322896647748295]]

Speaking to BBC News, Fuentes also spoke out about the warning signs that first indicated to her that Alvarez was in trouble.

"I saw her feet were a little more white than normal so I thought her blood was not going as normal," Fuentes said. "Normally when you finish what you really want to do is breathe but instead of going up, she was going down.

"It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren't doing it."

After Fuentes realized that Alvarez was in danger, she said that she looked over at the lifeguards. "I saw that they were stunned," she said. "They didn't react. I thought, 'Will you jump in now?' My reflexes kicked in."

Featured image credit: Xinhua / Alamy