Before even unpacking from her Olympic trip, silver medalist Anita Alvarez spoke with me. In this interview, she opens up about team rituals, stepping onto the podium in Paris, watching her USA artistic swimming team’s underwater moonwalk explode online, the time she almost drowned, and how that setback inspired others to persevere through challenges. Alvarez fell in love with artistic swimming while growing up in Western New York. This is her story.
Thank you to USA Artistic Swimming for providing me with photos. Courtesies: Anita Alvarez, Liz Corman, JH Exposures and James Rokop.