A Team USA Artistic swimmer who was dramatically rescued by her coach after fainting during the world aquatics championships in Budapest on Wednesday has spoken out in regards to the harrowing expertise.
“I remember feeling like it was a really great performance,” 25-year-old Anita Alvarez advised NBC Nightly News in an unique interview following the Wednesday particular person ultimate, in which she completed seventh.
“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,” he mentioned. “So, because of that I feel really happy and really proud.”
Alvarez, who was joined by her coach, Andrea Fuentes, for the interview, mentioned she gave “everything until the very end” of her efficiency.
“And then I remember going down and just being like, kind of like, uh oh, like, I don’t feel too great, and that’s literally the last thing I remember, actually,” she mentioned.
Alvarez, a two-time Olympian, mentioned she had “started to feel a little bit of numbness in my fingers and then honestly, just kind of everything went black and that was … kind of it,” she mentioned. “It all happened really fast.”
In stunning photographs, Alvarez could possibly be seen floating in direction of the underside of the pool, apparently unconscious, after finishing her solo free routine.
Her coach, Fuentes, who beforehand received 4 Olympic medals for Spain, rapidly leapt into motion, plunging into the water to save lots of the swimmer.
Fuentes, nonetheless totally clothed in a T-shirt and shorts, may then be seen pulling Alvarez up in direction of the floor of the water earlier than dragging her towards the sting of the pool with the assistance of an unidentified man.
“As soon as she was going down, immediately I know that something was wrong,” Fuentes advised NBC News.
The rescue, she mentioned, felt prefer it was “in slow motion.”
“For Anita, it was fast, but for me it was a year,” she mentioned.
After coming to, Alvarez mentioned: “I think right away, I knew I would be OK.”
“As soon as I started breathing and was awake and everything,” she mentioned.
The incident was not the primary time Alvarez was saved by her coach after fainting in the water, with Fuentes additionally coming to her rescue at an Olympic qualifying occasion final yr in Spain.
“I mean, I say this all the time to her and to other people,” Alvarez mentioned. “Just so grateful to have her as a coach.”
Alvarez is anticipated to resolve with a physician whether or not she will be able to swim in the upcoming free team finals on the world aquatics championships.