Alvarez stronger, better after viral fainting incident

It has been three years since American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez found herself in a distressing scene which went viral.

- Melvyn Teoh

After completing her solo free final at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Budapest, Hungary, she fainted and sank to the bottom of the pool.

In that critical situation, it was her quick-thinking coach Andrea Fuentes who dived in to lift her to the surface.

Alvarez received medical treatment and was said to be fine despite having stopped breathing for at least two minutes. She missed the team final two days later.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the WCH Arena on July 17, a day before the start of the 2025 WCH artistic swimming competition, the 28-year-old said she is "forever grateful" to Fuentes.

"There was a lot that happened in that moment," Alvarez recalled. "Of course, I was unconscious when it happened, so I don't have memories of the actual incident.

"I remember feeling good before the swim. I remember feeling like I was really enjoying it.

"(It means a lot) having a coach or a teammate or whoever it is in your life that can be that intuitive about you and know when something is off to jump into action to help you out.