Team USA coach rescues unconscious swimmer from pool at World Aquatics Championships

Catch up fast: Photos showed Fuentes, still wearing a T-shirt and shorts, swimming toward Alvarez as she sank toward the bottom of the pool.

• Fuentes and an unidentified man then helped get Alvarez to the surface, according to photos.
• Alvarez was given medical attention and taken away on a stretcher, Reuters reported.

The big picture: It is the second time Fuentes has rescued Alvarez. The swimmer also fainted during an Olympic qualification event last year, according to Reuters.

• Fuentes told the Spanish newspaper Marca that she sprung into action Wednesday because she "saw that no one, no lifeguard, was jumping in."
• Alvarez is feeling better and will rest on Thursday, USA Artistic Swimming said in a statement on Instagram. The medical staff will determine whether she competes in the final.

What they're saying: "Watching yesterday’s medical emergency of 2x Olympian Anita Alvarez and subsequent rescue by coach Andrea Fuentes was heartbreaking for our community," USA Artistic Swimming said in its statement.

• "We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports. Marathon, cycling, cross country ... we all have seen images where some athletes don't make it to the finish line and others help them to get there," Fuentes said, per USA Artistic Swimming's Instagram post.