An American artistic swimmer was dramatically rescued by her coach after she reportedly lost consciousness and sank to the bottom of the pool during a competition on Wednesday.

The dramatic incident unfolded at the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

According to reports; Anita Alvarez, 25, had completed her routine in the women’s solo freestyle, when she started to sink. Her coach, Andrea Fuentes, noticing something was off, immediately jumped into the pool fully clothed to save her charge.

In very dramatic scenes in Hungary, the 39-year-old retired Olympian is seen frantically swimming to Alvarez who was submerged before scrambling to bring her back to the surface.

She was then joined by another swimmer who assisted in the completion of the rescue.

“I jumped into the water again because I saw that no one, no lifeguard, was diving in. I got a little scared because she wasn’t breathing, but now she’s fine,” Fuentes explained after the incident.

The former Olympian added that after any choreography, “you really want to breathe” noting that the athletes hold their breath for “a long time”. So, when she saw Alvarez begin to sink in the pool, she knew something “was happening.”

She also adds that this situation isn’t as uncommon as one might expect, explaining that “sometimes people pass out.”  as per the Olympics.

Anita is however said to be recovering well and all her vitals have checked out normal following the incident.

“The doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc… all is okay”  Fuentes said in a statement shared on the USA Artistic Swimming.

“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,” she added.

“Our sport is no different than others, just in a pool, we push through limits and sometimes we find them. Anita feels good now and the doctors also say she is okay. Tomorrow she will rest all day and will decide with the doctor if she can swim free team finals or not. Thank you for all of your well wishes for Anita ” the statement closed.

 Fuentes competed  in synchronized swimming for Spain at the Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012,  respectively, claiming four medals before retiring in 2013