Artistic Swimmer Who Was Previously Saved from Drowning by Coach Wins Olympic Silver with Team USA

Mar. 15, 2025

Anita Alvarez of Team USA Artistic Swimming.Photo:BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty

Alvarez, 27, took second place alongside her Team USA co-competitors in the artistic swimming team competition on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at La Défense Arena in Paris.

The victory marks the first time the United States has medaled in the event since 2004.

After winning the silver, Alvarez and her team spoke toToday, where the Buffalo, N.Y. native said, “I’m just so happy to be here with this team and leaving with the silver medal is just the cherry on top.”

Members of Team United States artistic swimming compete in the Team Acrobatic Routine.Clive Rose/Getty

Clive Rose/Getty

Alvarez said she and her teammates “were underwater so we couldn’t hear, but the crowd went crazy” as they performed the routine,per Team USA. “And now we’re seeing videos blow up all over the internet, which I think is great for the sport. Anything to help grow the sport," she added.

After Alvarez’s frightening incident during the FINA World Aquatic Championships, Fuentes, 41, described the situation as “a difficult nightmare” during aninterview with PEOPLEshortly after it happened.

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Fuentes said that initially, she “didn’t think [Alvarez] was going to pass out at all,” despite noticing that the swimmer’s “feet were a little bit more pale than usual.”

“I thought that she was just doing a huge effort and I was proud of her because that’s the world champs, it’s the final. So I was like, she’s pushing through her limit as much as she can,” Fuentes explained.

It wasn’t until Alvarez didn’t come up for a breath after the routine that her coach knew something was wrong.

Fuentes told PEOPLE, “I realized that she was not okay because in our sport, it’s really important to breathe when you finish. So as soon as she went down, I immediately recognized that she passed out. I know her very well, I see her a lot of hours every day.”

The coach’s first thought “at that moment” was, “I have to take her out,” and she “was not expecting” anyone else to jump into the water. “I didn’t even think [if] I have to go or not, I just went,” she said. “So, I just went as fast as I could and it was I think the longest 25 meters of my life.”

Anita Alvarez faints in the pool at the 2022 FINA World Championships.Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty

“We reached the surface and I noticed that [Alvarez] was not breathing,” added Fuentes, who didn’t freak out in the “really scary” moment. “I just said, ‘Do whatever it takes to make her breathe.’ So my only goal was to fix it.”

After the silver medal win, Fuentes told Olympics.com, “It was magic,” adding, “It has been a dream of a system that we have created.”

source: people.com