Andrea Fuentes prevented a tragedy at the swimming world championships with her quick reaction.
The United States coach knew something was wrong when she saw artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez sink motionless to the bottom of the pool during a solo free routine on Wednesday.
The fully clothed Fuentes dived in. She swam to the unresponsive Alvarez, put her arms around her, and lifted her to the water's surface, where another person helped get her out of the pool."It was her best performance ever, she just pushed through her limits and she found them," Fuentes joked."Anita has been evaluated by medical staff and will continue to be monitored.
"Watching yesterday's medical emergency of 2x Olympian Anita Alvarez and subsequent rescue by coach Andrea Fuentes was heartbreaking for our community. She gave an exceptional solo performance and competed brilliantly in four preliminary and three final competitions across six days.""Whether or not she will swim in the free team final on Friday ... will be determined by Anita and expert medical staff," USA Artistic Swimming said.