Coach Andrea Fuentes jumped into the pool after seeing the 25-year-old artistic swimmer sink to the bottom at the end of her routine in the women’s singles competition.
Fuentes, a four-time Olympic synchronized swimming medalist, lifted Alvarez to the surface before helping her lead her to the edge of the pool.
Alvarez received medical treatment by the pool, Reuters reported, and was later taken on a stretcher.
This was the second time Fuentes had to save Alvarez, according to Reuters, after she jumped into the pool during last year’s Olympic qualifiers and pulled her to safety, along with American swimming partner Lindy Schroeder.
Fuentes told Spanish television operator Cadena COPE in a radio interview: “I don’t think I’ve swum so fast so far, even when I won Olympic medals and well, I finally managed to lift it and it was” The rescuer came later. ” A statement from the American Art Swimming Instagram page Fuentes said Alvarez would rest on Thursday and consult with his doctor to see if she would be fit to compete in the team swimming finals, which are scheduled to take place in Friday, according to the website of the governing body of sport, FINA. ” “Anita is fine – the doctors checked all the vital signs and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc … everything is fine,” Fuentes said in a statement.
“Sometimes we forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports. Marathons, cycling, cross-country … we’ve all seen images where some athletes don’t make it to the finish line and others help them get there,” Fuentes said. added.
“Our sport is no different from the others, just in the pool, we cross borders and sometimes we discover them. Anita is feeling well now and the doctors also say she is fine.”
Alvarez finished seventh behind Japan’s Yukiko Inui, who won gold, while Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina and Greece’s Evangelia Plataniotti were second and third, respectively, according to the International Swimming Federation’s (FINA) website.
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