The American swimmer of Mexican origin Anita Alvarez did not receive the approval of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) to participate this Friday in the final for synchronized swimming teams in the world championships that are held in Budapest, Hungary.
Alvarez, 25, fainted on Wednesday when she was performing her routine in the final of the free solo discipline, which led her coach, Andrea Fuentes, to jump into the pool to bring her to the surface, thus preventing her from falling. will drown
Alvarez passed out in the pool as her coach pulled her out. Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images
“The team will participate in the team free event without Anita Alvarez.
FINA has determined that he will not be allowed to compete for sporting safety reasons," the United States Synchronized Swimming Federation said in a statement.
“Anita has been thoroughly evaluated by a medical team and is healthy based on both previous tests and current evaluations.
She is doing well and thanks everyone for her support,” the statement continued.
Artistic swim team manager Adam Andrasko said in a statement: “We are so grateful that Anita is healthy.
Anita is a great competitor and we couldn't be more proud of her.
It's a shame that she won't get the chance to compete in the last round of her competition, but she will be back in the pool in the near future and she will inspire us all once again”.
The artistic swimming team had determined that the athlete would participate in the final, but Dr. Merkely Bela, who supervises the well-being of athletes in swimming pools in Budapest, told a Hungarian media outlet that
the swimmer was not prepared to face the test this friday
.
[The trainer who saved Álvarez narrates why the rescuers did not act and the swimmer says: “I did not feel very well”]
"There are different types of athletes. Some tolerate varying amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide in their bodies well. But there are those who are more sensitive to this, and Anita Alvarez is one of them. Synchronized swimming is probably not for her." ", declared Bela, quoted by the newspaper El País.
Alvarez told NBC News that he has few memories of the blackout: "I remember feeling like it was a great performance, like when I did my best exercise, not just because of how I performed, but because I was really enjoying myself."
With the support of a rescuer, Fuentes managed to get Álvarez out. Peter Kohalmi.
/ AFP via Getty Images
Her trainer quickly understood that something was wrong with her.
"When I saw that it went down instead of breathing, which is what you most want to do when you finish [an exercise], I said 'this is not normal and you have to go now,'" the coach told Noticias Telemundo.
Fuentes pointed out that Alvarez "is an athlete who likes to push herself to the limit," but acknowledged that this time she exceeded her threshold.
The Spanish coach explained: "Faintings are common in our sport and, curiously, they are usually noticed at the end, because the body continues to execute the routine asleep. We call it muscle memory".
Fuentes tries to grab Anita Alvarez. Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images
"Our sport is very hard and sometimes these things happen, it already happened with a Japanese swimmer at the Beijing Games in the group final, what happens is that here it was more spectacular because Anita was alone in the pool," said Fuentes.
