Incredible moment coach saves swimmer's life after she faints in the pool

An American swimmer once had to be rescued by her coach after fainting during a routine at the World Aquatics Championships.

Anita Alvarez lost consciousness after completing her routine in the artistic solo free final in Budapest.

She began sinking to the bottom of the pool after passing out, prompting her coach - four-time Olympic medallist Andrea Fuentes – to dive in a bring her back to the surface.

American swimmer Anita Alvarez is lucky to be alive after she fainted while competing at the World Championships and had to be rescued by her coach on Thursday.

The American swim team were left visibly shaken by the horrific near miss pic.twitter.com/Al0gCkBEnn

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It was the second time Alvarez had fainted during a routine.

A similar incident occurred during an Olympic qualifier in Barcelona where Fuetes again came to the rescue.

"Anita is OK," Fuentes said after the latest incident.

"The doctors checked all vitals and everything is normal: heart rate, oxygen, sugar levels, blood pressure, all is OK.

"We sometimes forget that this happens in other high-endurance sports like 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.

"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 OK.

"Tomorrow she will rest all day and will decide with the doctor if she can swim free team finals or not."

Speaking to Spanish radio, Fuentes added: "It felt like a whole hour. I said things weren't right, I was shouting at the lifeguards to get into the water, but they didn't catch what I said or they didn't understand.

"She wasn't breathing. I went as quickly as I could, as if it were an Olympic final."

Alvarez scored 87.6333 points for her routine, finishing seventh in the final.