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.
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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.
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“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.
“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.”
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