A Olympic swimmer who blacked out and nearly drowned at a competition revealed she is doing better than ever since the life-threatening health scare.
Team USA artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez made headlines when she plummeted to the bottom of a pool during the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
The 28-year-old saw her life flash before her eyes in the harrowing moment, as her coach, Andrea Fuentes, dove into the water to rescue her.
But she has not let the near-death experience set her back, as she is continuing to make massive strides to better herself beyond her beloved sport.
‘A lot of athletes struggle with the question of “what’s next?” when they think about the end of their career and try to figure out what they want to do in the real world,’ Alvarez told People.
For the determined swimmer, the answer was clear – following another passion to become an Air Force recruit.
After helping her team earn a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she enrolled in basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland as a member of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).
The WCAP allows high-level athletes to continue Olympic training while serving the nation.
Team USA artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez made headlines in when she plummeted to the bottom of a pool during the 2022 World Championships in Budapest (pictured: Alvarez being saved by her coach Andrea Fuentes)
Alvarez (pictured) revealed she is doing better than ever since the life-threatening health scare
The 28-year-old saw her life flash before her eyes in the harrowing moment, as her coach, Andrea Fuentes, dove into the water to rescue her (pictured: Alvarez being pulled to safety in 2022)
‘Our mission is to develop Department of Air Force athletes and prepare them to successfully qualify for Team USA and compete on the world stage at the Olympic Games,’ its mission statement reads.
WCAP was a perfect fit for Alvarez, who has no intentions of slowing down when it comes to her synchronized swimming.
‘Being able to wear two uniforms and get to prepare full time for the next Olympics while also representing the US Air Force just seemed like something I couldn’t pass up,’ the native New Yorker explained to People.
Alvarez graduated from WCAP in January as the first gold-medalist and 15th Olympian the program saw.
She said she plans to pursue a full time career as a US Air Force personnel after she competes at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
‘I have aspirations to continue serving after. But right now the passion for my sport is still there. I’d do it forever if I could,’ Alvarez clarified.
‘While I cherish my time as a professional athlete, it is also very exciting to have something to look forward to when that time is up.’
As she looks ahead to her bright future as Airman Alvarez, she reflects on her tumultuous past of mysterious medical hurdles that almost halted her success.
Alvarez (pictured) graduated from WCAP in January as the first gold-medalist and 15th Olympian the program saw
After helping her team earn a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Alvarez (left) enrolled in basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland as a member of the WCAP
Before the heavily-publicized Budapest horror, Alvarez had already experienced danger in the water.
At an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona in 2021, she passed out after performing a duet, prompting her coach to lunge into the pool and pull her out.
‘I remember getting to the end of the routine and not feeling like I had much control,’ Alvarez previously told NPR about the first time she went unconscious while competing.
‘I hit the last pose and I remember feeling like I was in a hamster wheel. Everything was spinning, then went dark.
‘I woke up at the side of the pool and realized I’m at a competition. “Wait, I am the competition.” Everyone’s staring at me.’
She decided to sit out her last routine and had an alternate take her place, ultimately securing Alvarez’s spot for the Tokyo Olympics.
Concerned about what caused her alarming health episode, she started searching for answers.
‘I started to get some testing after Barcelona to figure it out, but Tokyo came up so fast, and I don’t think I did the best job of being on top of it.’
Alvarez (pictured in 2022) said she plans to pursue a full time career as a US Air Force personnel after she competes at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
After the 2021 Olympics, Alvarez let herself rest, assuming her health scare meant she was simply drained from pushing herself too hard.
‘There was nothing major in the tests, so I kept going. Everything was fine until Budapest,’ she told NPR.
‘I never even thought about the possibility of it happening again.’
But it did – and this time, the entire world was watching.
Jaw-dropping photos captured the Fuentes rushed to Alvarez’s aid. A lifeguard soon joined in to help pull Alvarez’s limp body out of the pool.
Recalling the moment she was yanked to safety, Alvarez told People: ‘I remember suddenly beginning to see light through my eyes and thinking “‘Oh, I’m not breathing,” just as they were starting to put an oxygen mask on me.’
After the dramatic ordeal, Fuentes spoke out on Alvarez’s behalf.
‘The sport is extremely hard. Sometimes people pass out. Our job is to discover our limits, that’s what we do as athletes,’ Fuentes said.
Fuentes (pictured) explained Alvarez was alright once she was pulled out of the water
Alvarez (pictured) has not let the near-death experience set her back, as she has continued to make massive strides to better herself beyond her beloved sport
Before the heavily-publicized Budapest horror (pictured), Alvarez had already experienced danger in the water
She added in in Instagram post: ‘It was her best performance ever, she just pushed through her limits and she found them.’
USA Artistic Swimming said in a statement: ‘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.
‘Anita has been evaluated by medical staff and will continue to be monitored. She is feeling much better and using today to rest.’
She added that it would be determined by the medical staff if she could perform at the next event.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident Fuentes explained: ‘She only had water in her lungs, once she started breathing again everything was ok. She’s said she wants to swim in the final.’
Alvarez said in an Instagram story that she was ‘ok and healthy’ as she thanked fans for their messages of support.
As she looks ahead to her bright future as Airman Alvarez (pictured), she reflects on her tumultuous past of mysterious medical hurdles that almost halted her success
Jaw-dropping photos captured the Fuentes rushed to Alvarez’s aid. A lifeguard soon joined in to help pull Alvarez’s limp body out of the pool (pictured)
WCAP was a perfect fit for Alvarez (center), who has no intentions of slowing down when it comes to her synchronized swimming
Nevertheless, Alvarez was banned by the International Swimming Federation from competing in the team final 48 hours later.
‘[The incident] blew up way more than I ever thought,’ Alvarez admitted to People.
‘But learning how those photos inspired people changed the way I looked at it.’
After stepping out of the spotlight and determining she was more than alright to continue competing, Alvarez stunned at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking home a silver medal.
She told People her post-Olympic time in the WCAP was the ‘longest I’d ever been out of a pool’ and she is eager to fully re-emerge in training for 2028.