Hero of the Week: Coach rescues American swimmer at World Championships

 This week's hero is a swim coach who didn't hesitate to dive in a pool to  save a swimmer at the World Championships! 

(Credit: CNN)

Coach dives into pool to rescue American swimmer Anita Alvarez at World Championships 

By Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Updated 5:06 PM ET, Thu June 23, 2022

CNN)American swimmer Anita Alvarez was rescued from the bottom of the pool by her coach at the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, after she lost consciousness.

Coach Andrea Fuentes jumped into the pool after she saw the 25-year-old artistic swimmer sink to the bottom at the end of her routine in the women's solo free event on Wednesday.

Alvarez was doing "really good" Thursday and medical tests showed everything was "under control," Fuentes told CNN. Fuentes, a four-time Olympic medalist in synchronized swimming, lifted Alvarez to the surface before helping bring her to the edge of the pool.

Alvarez, who competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, received medical attention beside the pool and was subsequently carried off in a stretcher.

It was the second time Fuentes has had to rescue Alvarez. She leapt into the pool during an Olympic qualification event last year and pulled her to safety, along with the American's swim partner, Lindi Schroeder. 'I was not going to wait'

The coach told CNN that while the event might have seemed strange to the world, it's not all that uncommon in the sport, where swimmers regularly hold their breath for extended periods of time aiming to improve their lung capacity, but highlighted those practices never go against medical advice they're given.

Toward the end of Alvarez's routine on Wednesday, Fuentes noticed the swimmer's feet seemed to be more pale than normal, which caught her attention. And when she saw Alvarez going down instead of upward to breathe, she dove in.

"Ms. Alvarez was immediately treated by a medical team in the venue and is in good health," the statement read. Oli Scarff, who captured the stunning pictures of the rescue with the help of a remote robotic camera underwater, told CNN he was looking at his computer toward the end of Alvarez's routine when he heard some commotion. He looked at the screen of what the robotic camera was capturing and saw the swimmer at the bottom of the pool.