THE CANADIAN PRESS
BEIJING — A member of Japan’s synchronized swimming team had to be helped out of the pool during Saturday’s final after she apparently fainted.
Hiromi Kobayashi, a 23-year-old from Osaka competing in her first Olympics, was taken off the deck on a stretcher.
After Japan’s number concluded, two men in swimsuits jumped into the pool to assist the team, which was helping Kobayashi to the side. The other team members climbed out to await their scores, while the ailing woman clung to the pool’s edge.
Kobayashi was lifted out and she buckled to her knees. Her body and head went limp as she was carried away. She was wrapped in a white sheet and rushed away on the stretcher, attended to by several volunteers and medical personnel.
Hiroshi Takeuchi, press officer for the Japanese team, said Kobayashi hyperventilated because of stress.
"That kind of thing has happened to her before," he said. "She is good. Don’t worry, she’s not in serious condition."
He said Kobayashi was conscious and resting at the arena, and did not require a hospital visit.
"During the last part of the routine, the team became exhausted," coach Masako Kaneko said. "The last part was the climax, but it went wrong and this was reflected in the score. Their sharpness was poor as well."
The Spanish team came on deck as Kobayashi was poolside.
"We saw something had happened — there were a lot of doctors moving all around — but we didn’t think about it," swimmer Paolo Tirados said. "We wanted to do our own thing and fight for a medal and be close to the Russians."
