Tiffany said a pool maintenance person from his company is in Rio, and was consulted on what was happening in the pool. The spokesperson said the crew probably needed to take into consideration that more athletes in the pool would affect the water unlike previous tests conducted before the games began had revealed. So is it unsafe? Thankfully, we now have an answer.
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FINA stressed that there was no health risk to the divers but said “the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discolouration”.
The water polo pool had remained blue throughout the competition on Tuesday.
Hopefully whatever caused the pool to go green doesn’t do the same to them. Should swimmers be in that water?
Rio Olympic diving pool turned a bright shade of green on Tuesday, and the reason was at first shrouded in mystery.
Likely the pool staff needs to add some chemicals to the pool because the green color is usually because of algae growing in the water. The pool, which was used Tuesday for the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform events, was a crystal-clear, Olympic blue just a day earlier.
Pools used for diving are typically warmer than those used for swimming and warmer water is more conducive to algae growth.
Events in the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre are expected to continue as planned, the Rio 2016 Local Organizing Committee said in a statement.
The black lines at the bottom of the water polo pool were clearly visible as play continued throughout the day, and there was no evidence of the color affecting the action. After testing, the Olympic committee announced the water had been tested and determined the color is caused by algae.
Officials said the water should be back to its normal color by Wednesday, according to CNN.
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Canadian synchronised diver Meaghan Benfeito was another to call the situation “weird” and said the stronger contrast with the sky helped her, too.
