In miraculous scenes, a swim coach dived into a pool to save an artistic swimmer after she fainted in the water.
US swimmer Anita Alvarez was saved by her coach Andrea Fuentes after she passed out in the water at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old was taking part in the final of the women’s solo free event when halfway through her routine, she lost consciousness in the water and began to sink to the bottom of the pool.
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With some incredible quick thinking, Fuentes jumped into the pool and swam downwards to reach Alvarez, carrying her to safety with the help of another bystander.
The swimmer soon regained consciousness and was given medical attention, and is said to now be recovering.
The rest of her team looked worried as the ordeal unfolded, and were seen comforting each other as the medical team rescued Anita.
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Fuentes has since called out lifeguards for 'not doing anything' when Alvarez was drowning, with her saying: "It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren't doing it.
"I was scared because I saw she wasn't breathing, but now she is doing very well. Anita is doing much better."
The coach later provided a further update on Instagram, writing: "What a day. I think I had all kinds of possible emotions.
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"Anita is OK. The doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc... all is OK."
"We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports," she reminded social media users.
"Marathon, cycling, cross country... we have all seen images, where some athletes don't make it to the finish line and others, help them to get there.
"Our sport is no different to others, just in a pool, we push through limits and sometimes we find them."
"Tomorrow she will rest all day and decide with the doctor if she can swim free team finals or not."
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Although the events seemed shocking, it is not the first time that Fuentes rescued Alvarez from the water as she fainted in Barcelona last year.
At the time, her mum said: "Unfortunately I've seen it happen to her before - never in competition, though.
"I knew right away. On their last element, I could tell something was up. It was hard to watch, definitely."
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Gabriella Ferlita