In a pro bono matter handled through the U.S. Olympics Athlete Ombuds Committee, Fox Rothschild Attorney Cameron Baker helped clear the way for two-time Olympian swimmer Anita Alvarez to return to competition.
Alvarez is an American artistic and synchronized swimmer who is currently preparing for the Pan American Games. In a 2022 incident, she passed out and sank to the bottom of the pool at the World Aquatics Championships before being rescued by her coach.
After an arduous process, doctors cleared Alvarez to compete again, but she was told she would be required to sign a waiver and release before being permitted to return to competition. She contacted Baker worried that signing a release would mean she was required to travel with her own medical team or otherwise be treated differently than any other competitor.
Baker reviewed the documents and negotiated directly with Brent Nowicki, the CEO of World Aquatics and Adam Andrasko, the CEO of USA Artistic Swimming so that Alvarez would be “treated the same way as any other athlete” while competing.
With negotiations complete, Alvarez was able to compete in the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup, where Team USA earned a silver and bronze medal in the acrobatic final, as well as achieving the highest World rank in the last 16 years. At the upcoming Pan American games, the team will compete to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Original source can be found here.