It's certainly been an eventful Olympics, hasn't it? From the controversy around the opening ceremony to an athlete vomiting on television, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly. In the latest tragic turn of events, an Olympic swimmer collapsed after finishing a race in a tense moment.
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The incident happened on Friday morning at the 2024 Olympics. Olympic swimmer Tamara Potocka, repping her home country of Slovakia, collapsed after competing in the women's 200-meter individual medley heat. The athlete had a sever asthma attack according to reports.
It ended up being so bad that medical personnel quickly responded to the Olympic swimmer's medical crisis. They carried her away on a stretcher with a neck brace. Fortunately, the Olympic swimmer woke up at the hospital. Potocka was able to communicate with doctors, but they plan to monitor Potocka for several more hours.
It's Potocka's first Olympics. She collapsed after exiting the pool at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France. She ended up finishing 7th in that competition. Although the Olympic swimmer has a history of asthma, she didn't have her inhaler with her. Medical staff gave her an oxygen mask.
Olympic Swimmer Collapses
"Tamara has asthma," Slovakia's team leader Ivana Lange said in a statement. "This whole combination of nervous and physical tension while she did not have her inhaler immediately available to use contributed to the creation of this problem.
"She received oxygen and necessary medication. Her condition is constantly monitored. A few minutes ago, the doctor told me that she must be monitored for several more hours."
Meanwhile, one of her rivals weighed in on the situation. Israeli swimmer Lea Polonsky, who competed against Potocka, said there's plenty of risks when it comes to swimming. As athletes, they push their bodies to the absolute limits. As such things can go wrong. She said that they are aware of the risks during a race.
"Of course that's something in the back of your mind, but we do every day push ourselves to the limit," Polonsky said. "You always know something like that can happen. It's not something you think about during the race, but it's always there."
