Latest news with #AnitaAlvarez
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
American Olympian Anita Alvarez recalls near-drowning incident
American Olympian Anita Alvarez needed to be rescued from the pool when she fainted and nearly drowned at the World Aquatics Championships in June 2022. The artistic swimmer eventually helped Team USA win a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games, but it was the moment when her coach rushed into the pool to save her two years prior that stuck with the sports world for months before the Olympics began. She opened up about the incident in an interview with People magazine, which was published on Saturday. "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,'" she said. Alvarez said the entire incident "blew up way more than" she would have thought. "But learning how those photos inspired people changed the way I looked at it," she said. Alvarez is now focused on her career outside the pool. She joined the U.S. Air Force and graduated from basic training in January. She is a member of the World Class Athletic Program, which helps military members continue their training while serving the country. She has since returned to the pool to gear up for the world championships later this year in Singapore with hopes of returning to Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Alvarez has three bronze and one silver medal in the world championships. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
The Sun
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Olympic star who nearly died after fainting to bottom of pool in terrifying scenes reveals new career with armed forces
AN OLYMPIC star who nearly died after fainting in a swimming pool has launched a new career with the armed forces. Anita Alvarez represented Team USA in artistic swimming at three Olympic Games. 8 8 8 She was part of the team that won silver at Paris 2024. However, Alvarez suffered a terrifying ordeal in 2022 when she passed out during her solo artistic routine at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. The unconscious New York star sank to the bottom of the pool. Her coach Andrea Fuentes dived into the water to rescue Alvarez and pull her to the surface before being dragged out so she could receive emergency medical treatment. Alvaraz also had to be saved by Fuentes when she fainted a year earlier in Barcelona. Now the artistic swimmer revealed she has joined the Air Force. Following the Paris Games, Alvarez enrolled in basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland as a member of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), which allows elite American athletes to continue their sport alongside their military schooling. She told People: "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. "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. "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. Anita Alvarez' coach dives into pool to save her life after she fainted in water at World Championships "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." Alvarez is still eyeing a spot on Team USA at the home LA 2028 Olympics in three years' time - following on from her Rio, Tokyo and Paris exploits. That is despite the two shocking incidents which "blew up more than I ever thought". Reflecting in 2023 to NPR about the Barcelona collapse, Alvarez said: "I remember getting to the end of the routine and not feeling like I had much control. "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 at the competition. Everyone's staring at me.' "There was nothing major in the tests, so I kept going. Everything was fine until Budapest. "I never even thought about the possibility of it happening again. "[In Budapest] 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." 8 8 8 8
New York Post
12-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Team USA swimmer who nearly drowned during competition reveals surprising new career change
Team USA artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez, who nearly drowned at a competition when she fainted and sank to the bottom of the pool, has revealed her impressive new career chapter. The Olympic silver medalist fell unconscious just moments after completing her routine in the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, with haunting viral images of her coach, Andrea Fuentes, diving into the pool to save her from the near-death experience. 4 Three years after a Team USA artistic swimmer nearly drowned when she went unconscious and sank to the bottom of a pool, she has revealed she graduated from basic Air Force training in January. Kurstyn Canida / USAF Now, three years since her brush with death, the swimmer has revealed she joined the Air Force as a recruit, People Magazine reported. Alvarez, 28, returned to swimming to help her team win a silver medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, but the three-time Olympian, now known as 'Airman Alvarez,' graduated from basic training in January, the outlet reported. 4 After the near-death experience, Alvarez decided to embark on a new career prospect while continuing to train for future Olympic games. AFP via Getty Images She attended training at Joint Base San Antonio- Lackland and is now a member of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), made for Team USA athletes who want to join the forces while training. '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,' Alvarez told the outlet. She is the first medalist and 15th Olympian to join the special recruit program. 'It's a very cool opportunity,' Alzarez said. Her close call in 2022 led the Buffalo, New York, native to become even more disciplined as an athlete, she remarked. 4 She is the first medalist and 15th Olympian to join the special recruit program. 37th Training Wing '[The incident] blew up way more than I ever thought,' she said. 'But learning how those photos inspired people changed the way I looked at it.' The experience led Alvarez to feel she was at a crossroads in her career — and joining the Air Force felt like a logical next step. '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,' she told the outlet. Though training took her out of the pool for a long stint, she said her time at the Texas base 'prepared me to return to my team as a better leader and a better person.' 4 Alvarez said her time training at the Texas base prepared her to be 'a better leader and a better person.' 37th Training Wing Alvarez has been practicing for the 2025 world championships in Singapore in July and plans on attending the 2028 Summer Olympics — but ultimately is looking forward to her continuing her Air Force career. 'I have aspirations to continue serving after [2028]. But right now, the passion for my sport is still there. I'd do it forever if I could,' she said. '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.'
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Team USA swimmer who nearly drowned during competition breaks silence with major health update
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. '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. 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. 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 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.
