newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Andrea Fuentes immediately knew something was wrong when the artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez failed to come for a breath and drowned at the bottom of a pool during a solo free-up routine on Wednesday.
lvarez was competing in the Swimming World Championships Budapest, Hungarywhen she fainted.
Fuentes walked into the pool fully clothed to rescue the swimmer. Fuentes appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and talked about what he thought when he plunged into the water to save Alvarez.
“When you finish, you really want to breathe because you hold your breath for a long period of time, and the first thing you want to do is take a breath,” Koch said on the program.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Anita Alvarez of America receives medical aid during the women’s singles free final.
(Reuters/Lisa Lutner)
“And I thought she was going down, so I was like, right away, [I] I knew something was happening, so I went as fast as I could. And I reached up to him and brought him to the surface and tried to calm him down and let him breathe.”
Fuentes said in an interview with Spanish news outlet Marca that he took a dip in the pool because he didn’t see lifeguards doing it.
“I was scared because I could see she wasn’t breathing, but she feels great now. She’s at her best,” she said.
FINA faces backlash over new ‘gender inclusion policy’ for transgender swimmers
Dramatic photos were taken in the pool. Alvarez, two-time Olympian, medical attention was given And Thursday was doing better.
Anita Alvarez of America receives medical aid during the women’s singles free final.
(Reuters/Lisa Lutner)
A member of Team USA, Anita Alvarez of the United States, recovers, from the bottom of the pool during the women’s singles free artistic swimming final at the Budapest 2022 World Aquatics Championships at the Alfred Hajos Swimming Complex on June 22, 2022 in Budapest.
(Oli Scarf/AFP via Getty Images)
America’s Anita Alvarez performs during the women’s singles free initial.
(Reuters/Marten Mons)
Fuentes issued a statement Via USA Artistic Swim’s Instagram page.
“Anita is fine – the doctors checked all the essentials and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar level, blood pressure, etc… all is well. We sometimes forget that other high-endurance It happens in sports. Marathons, cycling, cross country… we’ve all seen pictures where some athletes can’t make it to the finish line and others help them get there.”
,Our game is no different from othersJust like in a pool, we cross boundaries and sometimes we find them. Anita is feeling well now and the doctors also say that she is fine. Tomorrow she will rest all day and decide with the doctor whether she can swim in the free team finals. Thank you for all the well wishes for Anita.”
According to The Guardian, Fuentes said Alvarez planned to take part in Friday’s team event.
Click here to get Fox News App
“I’ve seen this happen to him before,” Alvarez’s mother told WIVB-TV. “However, never in competition. I knew immediately. On his last element, I could tell something was up.”
Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.