American Anita Alvarez was rescued from the bottom of the pool by a coach after she passed out during the synchronized swimming competition at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Spaniard Andrea Fuentes jumped in to save 25-year-old Alvarez, who sank to the bottom of the pool and could no longer breathe during her performance in the freestyle singles final.

“It was terrible,” Fuentes said. “I had to jump because the rescuers didn’t.”

Fuentesen, 39, dropped her shorts and shirt to the bottom of the pool and pulled Alvarez to the surface before being helped to the edge of the pool.

“I was scared because I knew she wasn’t breathing, but she’s fine now,” said Fuentes, a four-time Olympic medalist.

Alvarez was taken on a stretcher to the institution’s medical center, where her colleagues and fans were shocked.

Team USA later released a statement from Fuentes stating that Alvarez had passed out due to the effort expended during her performance.

“Anita is fine. Doctors checked her vital signs, everything was normal: pulse, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, ”said the 16-time winner of the world championships.

“We sometimes forget that this happens in other endurance sports as well. Marathon, cycling and so on… We have seen pictures where some athletes do not reach the finish line, while others help them… Our sport is no different, but it is in the pool.”

Alvarez is participating in the World Championships for the third time, and she also fainted during the Olympic qualification in Barcelona last year.

In another interview, Fuentes criticized the slow response of the lifeguards at the World Championships, which ends on July 2, after almost two weeks of competition.

She said, “I think she didn’t breathe for at least two minutes because her lungs were full of water. But we managed to get her to a good place. She vomited water and coughed, but it was very scary.”

She added: “When I saw her drowning, I looked at the rescuers, but I saw that they were in shock. They didn’t react. I reacted quickly and told myself I couldn’t watch.”

She continued, “I didn’t think about it, I jumped. I think it was the strangest and fastest free dive I have ever done in my career. I carried and lifted him, it was hard, it was not easy. .”

Fuentes confirmed that Alvarez will rest and the doctors will decide if she is ready for Friday’s team final.