Addison Sauickie scared everyone watching in Atlanta this week. The 20 year old Stanford sophomore was racing in the 500 yard freestyle at the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships when something went very wrong. During the eighth lap of the 10 lap race, she suddenly went still in the water. Video from ESPN’s live broadcast, later shared by SwimSwamTV, shows Sauickie doing front crawl. Then her arms stop moving. For about five seconds, she floats face down without motion. The crowd had no idea what was happening.
Somehow, she starts swimming again, she finishes the race, but she comes in last, about one second behind the swimmer in front of her.
Her lap times clearly slowed down in the final two laps, showing that she was not okay. What happened next was even more worrying.
Addison Sauickie collapses after 500 yard freestyle race at ACC Swimming and Diving Championships
After touching the wall, Addison Sauickie does not climb out of the pool like the others. She stays in the water for around 30 seconds while the next heat prepares to begin. Officials then step in to help her out.
Once out of the pool, she manages to take only a step or two. Then she collapses on the deck.
Meet officials rush toward her right away. A chair is brought over so she can sit up. Medical staff begin checking on her while the meet continues in the background.
Reports say that after about five minutes, her coaches helped her away from the area.
Two days later, Stanford Swim shared an update with SFGATE. A team spokesperson said, “She continues to be evaluated by our medical team and her status for the remainder of the meet is unknown.”
The exact cause of the medical emergency has not been shared. Following the incident, Sauickie was scratched from the 200 yard freestyle and 200 yard butterfly preliminaries. On Saturday, she was also scratched from the 100 yard freestyle. She did not return to competition for the rest of the meet.
Addison Sauickie is not just any swimmer. Before joining Stanford, she won back to back state titles in Florida. She also competes for the Team USA junior national team. During the 2024 to 25 season, she earned a spot on the All ACC Academic Team as a freshman. Right now, the focus is on her health. Coaches and officials have not provided further details, and the swimming community is waiting for more updates.
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