Medical staff carry Slovakia's Tamara Potocka on a stretcher after she collapsed following a heat of the women's 200m individual medley swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 2, 2024. Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
Nanterre, France: Slovakia swimmer Tamara Potocka collapsed poolside Friday morning after a qualifying heat of the women's 200-meter individual medley at the Paris Olympics when she had an asthma attack, a team spokesman said.
Potocka, 21, was given first aid and carried off on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask. Medical personal at the pool said she was conscious.
"They transferred her to the hospital in the Olympic Village and our team doctor is waiting for her there,” Slovakia Olympic Committee spokesman Lubomír Souček told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Potocka collapsed as she got out of the water and almost immediately was surrounded by a half-dozen medical attendants who put her on a stretcher after about a minute and carried her off the pool deck.
It was not clear if she received CPR.
This is Potocka's first Olympics. She lives in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.
Potocka finished seventh in her heat in a time of 2 minutes, 14.20 seconds. Her time was not fast enough to advance her to the semifinals of the event, which eliminated her from the competition
