Team USA artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was back poolside with her teammates Friday, after fainting in the water and sinking toward the bottom this week.
Alvarez, 25 — a two-time Olympian and New York native — was shown in photos grinning and hugging teammates at the World Aquatic Championship in Budapest.
Alvarez apparently wasn’t ready to make a splash after her health scare, as she stood sidelined in a USA T-shirt next to suited-up swimmers.
On Wednesday, the swimmer’s head coach, Andrea Fuentes, 39, dove into a pool fully clothed to rescue her after she went unconscious and began sinking.
Alvarez wasn’t breathing when Fuentes pulled her to the surface, but she quickly coughed up water and began sucking in oxygen.
“I am okay and healthy!” Alvarez wrote on Instagram after the frightening plunge.
“I appreciate all of the messages of support and hope everyone can respect that my team and I still have two more days of competition to be focused on here in Budapest.”
US swimmer Anita Alvarez, left, joined her teammates Friday.PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images
Alvarez stood on the sidelines in a USA T-shirt next to her suited-up teammates.PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images
Alvarez said she is doing okay and that her vitals appear normal.PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images
Alvarez wasn’t breathing when she was pulled the surface initially after the scary incident.Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesShe added that she has “a job to finish,” whether that’s on the sidelines or in the water.
Alvarez “started to feel a little bit of numbness in my fingers and then honestly, just kind of everything went black,” she told NBC News — though it wasn’t clear Friday what caused her to faint.
In a statement, Fuentes said that Alvarez is “okay,” that doctors have “checked all vitals” and that “everything is normal.”
