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Swimmer Tamara Potocka collapsed poolside in the morning session at La Defense Arena in the Olympics.
The Slovakian completed the third women's 200m individual medley qualifying heat at Paris 2024, finishing seventh.
But Potocka then needed first aid and was carried off on a stretcher, leading to the fourth, including Great Britain's Freya Colbert, being delayed by several minutes.
Potocka, who finished in a time of 2mins 14.20secs to miss out on the semi-finals of the event, was given an oxygen mask and attended to close to the starting blocks, with the 15,000 crowd left momentarily silent.
But as Potocka was taken away on a stretcher, the crowd delivered a round of applause.
Potocka collapsed as she got out of the water and almost immediately was surrounded by a half-dozen medical attendants.
The 21-year-old was conscious, according to medical staff poolside, but it was not clear if she received CPR.
“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.”
Additional reporting from agencies
