Saying
There can be all kinds of accidents at any time on the sports field, and yesterday there was a very thrilling scene at the FINA World Championships.
A synchronizer suddenly lost consciousness during the competition, and the whole person sank to the bottom of the water, almost causing a serious accident.
It was the final of the synchronized swimming women's singles free event, and Anita Alvarez, a 25-year-old synchronized swimmer from the United States, was in the pool to show off the beautiful movements she had prepared to accompany the music.
The audience was fascinated to see her dancing freely in the water as if she were a water elf.
But just then, suddenly she stopped moving. And because of her own weight, her whole body began to slowly sink to the bottom.
The teammates, who were still cheering loudly, also noticed the strangeness, and their expressions immediately changed from excitement to panic, and they pointed their fingers at the pool.
Because Anita's state didn't look like she was doing rehearsals at all, she was completely unconscious and fainted in the pool....
Losing consciousness in the water, Anita could at any time suffer from suffocation for too long, causing a lack of oxygen to her brain, endangering her life.
However, to the astonishment of everyone at the scene, the lifeguard was actually motionless next to him, without the slightest intention of diving into the water to get Anita out.
In a life-or-death situation, Anita's coach, Andrea Fuentes, quickly jumped into the water.
At this time, Anita's body had already sunk to the bottom of the pool, facing downwards, and her arms were naturally hanging down, already in a state of unconsciousness.
Coach Andrea sped up the dive to the bottom of the water, came to her side, and then carried her to drag it to the surface.
At this time, another male athlete, who did not know his name, also jumped into the water and helped her drag Anita back to safety.
And the whole process of lifeguards are watching from the pool.
After being rescued from the pool, Anita was immediately carried away on a stretcher by the first responders, and it is reported that she received the first aid immediately and soon regained consciousness.
Coach Andrea also said in an interview afterwards that he reprimanded the lifeguard for his inaction, and felt very afraid afterwards:
"The situation at the time made me panic so much that I had to jump in because the lifeguards didn't do that. I was scared because I saw that she had lost her breath for a while, but now she was recovering well.
The rest of the team were clearly distressed by the horrific incident, and afterwards they were seen comforting each other by the pool. ”
As for whether Anita can participate in the team competition next, she said she needs to discuss it with the doctor.
"Anita is feeling fine now and the doctor says she's okay. Tomorrow she will take a full day off and work with the doctor to decide if she can swim in the free team finals. ”
Surprisingly, this isn't the first time Anita has lost consciousness in the pool. And last time, the coach rescued her from the pool.
She also fainted last year during the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in Barcelona. But that time it didn't get much attention because it was just a qualifier.
Anita's mother, Karen, also said, "Unfortunately, I've seen this happen to her before – but it never happened in the game. ”
In most synchronized swimming competitions, athletes are asked to hold their breath for no more than a minute at a time.
And synchronized swimmers also wear nose clips to prevent their noses from entering the water when they stand upside down, but this also makes it difficult for them to breathe on the surface of the water, which is why athletes have to open their mouths to breathe as soon as they emerge from the water.
If a novice mishandles, or holds his breath for too long and causes a lack of oxygen and faints, it makes sense, but 25-year-old Anita is a veteran of the U.S. swimming team.
She began her professional swimming career after graduating from high school in 2014, joining the U.S. women's synchronized swimming national team, where she represented the United States at the 2014 World Junior Championships and the 2015 World Championships.
She also competed in the women's doubles freestyle swimming event at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where her best result was bronze medals at the 2019 World Championships in Lima in the women's doubles and women's team events.
Those achievements also earned her the U.S. Athlete of the Year award that same year and was named U.S. Art Swimmer of the Year in 2021.
However, recently she appeared twice during the game to faint in the past, so netizens can't help but worry: Is there a problem with her health?
After all, swimming is also a very challenging sport, and it is really impossible to ignore so many times of fainting.
"She needed a doctor to check what caused her to faint, and it happened twice, and it was her coach who saved her. There must be something wrong with her body. ”
"I hate thinking negatively, but it's a serious situation, and what if her coach isn't there next time?"
"She should have a full physical examination. Fainting so often at such a young age is not normal at all. I hope she'll be okay. ”
"She fainted twice in two years, and she might not be suitable for the sport."
Some netizens also pointed out that their family members also fainted, and only after going to the examination did they find that there was a tumor in the brain.
"If she faints 2 times, she should take a CT." My brother had fainted twice before, and after the examination, the doctor found that he had a huge tumor in his brain. I hope she's okay. ”
"In 2013, my 27-year-old cousin fainted several times. After he finally went to the doctor to take an MRI, he found that he had a very large tumor in his brain, and the doctor said that there was nothing he could do. Unfortunately, he died 3 months later.
So this athlete must be right away! Right away! Go to the doctor for a check-up! ”
I still hope that Anita and her team will pay attention to her health and check her body.