Paris 2024 Olympics: Tamara Potocká cites ‘total exhaustion’ and not an asthma attack as the reason for her collapse after the women’s 200m individual medley qualifying heat

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Slovakian swimmer Tamara Potocká says “total exhaustion” was the reason she was carried out of the pool at the La Défense Arena in Paris on a stretcher after Friday’s qualifying heat for the women’s 200-metre individual medley.

The 21-year-old Potocká did not advance in the event after finishing seventh in the race, which was won by Canada’s Summer McIntosh. She fell to the ground as she emerged from the water before being surrounded by Paris Olympic medical staff. About a minute later, she was carried off the pool deck on a stretcher and was seen wearing an oxygen mask as she was taken away for medical attention.

Slovaki’s team leader, Ivana Lange, told the media that Potocká has asthma and didn’t have her inhaler with her. That and the “combination of nervous and physical tension” were a factor in what happened.

Potocká posted a message on Instagram clarifying the situation, saying she had not had an asthma attack and that she “wanted to leave her soul in the pool, and that’s what really happened.”

The heat scheduled to take place immediately after Potocka’s incident was postponed so that medical staff could attend to the Slovakian swimmer.

Potocká, who is competing at the Olympic Games for the first time, was a four-time finalist at the 2024 European Championships. The 200m medley is the only event she will compete in at the Paris Games.