Meanwhile, Mario Andrada, the spokesman of Rio 2016 commented that it was an embarrassment.
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Hydrogen peroxide is sometimes used in pools-often to de-chlorinate them.
Nascimento said organizers will not drain the water in the diving pool, but will instead try to improve the pool’s filters.
He said a contractor poured 80 liters hydrogen peroxide into the pool last week. The officials chose to drain the 3.7 million-liter pool before the synchronized swimming event will begin, which is scheduled on Monday.
However, he reiterated that the kale-coloured water posed no risk to the health of the athletes although he admits the issue should have been resolved quicker.
That was necessary, he said, to ensure clear water for synchronised swimming judges and competitors, with the majority of the competition taking place under water. The one used by water polo teams will be drained since it is not needed after Saturday, while the synchronised swimmers will continue to have use of their practice pool.
After a noticeable color change to green over the past week at the outdoor pool adjacent to the Maracana Stadium in Rio, offering up various excuses and those involved in events at the pool noticing a pungent odor most identified with “farts,” all seems to be well.
Synchronized swimming, where athletes have to be able to see each other below the surface, is scheduled to start Sunday.
“This is a way of cleaning swimming pools but you’re not supposed to combine it with chlorine”, Gustavo Nascimento, Rio 2016’s director of venue management, said. We should have been better in fixing it quickly.
After a week of trying to part with green tides in two outdoor swimming pools, Olympic officials over the weekend wrung out a fresh mea culpa and yet another explanation-neither of which were comforting. “We learned a painful lesson the hard way”, Andrada said.
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“The diving tank, we’ve not replaced the water because our main commitment is obviously to the competition schedule because the athletes prepare themselves according to that schedule, so we need to preserve that”.
