Old footage of Anita Alvarez collapsing in the pool last year has come to light once again after the US synchronised swimmer fainted at the World Championships in Budapest. 

Coach Andrea Fuentes had to rescue Alvarez after lifeguards failed to react as she sunk in the pool. She regained consciousness after that and is reportedly recovering well. 

Remarkably though, it is not the first time its happened as Fuentes and one of Alvarez's team-mates had to rescue Alvarez, 25, in a similar manner at a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Barcelona in June 2021. 

Coach Andrea Fuentes dived into the pool last year to save Anita Alvarez after she fainted

'Unfortunately I've seen it happen to her before - never in competition, though,' Alvarez's mother Karen said at the time.

'I knew right away. On their last element, I could tell something was up. It was hard to watch, definitely.' 

Most synchronised swimming routines require athletes to hold their breath for no more than one minute at a time.

Yet after her latest collapse in Hungary, Fuentes revealed Alvarez stopped breathing for 'at least two minutes' during the ordeal following her performance in the women's solo free event. 

'I tried to wake her up. Well, I slapped her and opened her jaw. But the truth is that until after we got to the emergency room, she did not breathe for at least two minutes,' Fuentes said during a Spanish-language interview last night. 

The US coach, who was critical of lifeguards after the near-tragedy, had said last night a decision on whether Alvarez would swim in the free team finals tomorrow would be taken on medical advice. 

But today the 39-year-old mum-of-one said Alvarez was determined not to abandon the World Championships.

Fuentes told Spanish daily El Mundo: 'She doesn't want to leave here with the photo of her unconscious at the bottom of the pool. In any case in the team events Anita does a lot of pirouettes and very few apneas so she will almost certainly compete.'

Meanwhile, three-time Olympic synchronised swimming champion Alla Shishkina has urged US officials to carry out more thorough checks on Alvarez after her laest collapse in Hungary. 

'I think the reason must be looked for somewhere deeper,' the Russian told Sport24. 'Maybe check the vessels of the brain, do an in-depth encephalogram. 

'If a person loses consciousness like this, then obviously not everything is in order, you need to check your health. I wish that Anita was all right, but I would think about a full examination.

'Athletes are people who, even if it is dangerous to perform, will still do it.'