Yesterday, the women’s synchronized diving event in Rio brought together some truly incredible athletes doing *insane* moves in the air.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, the water polo pool at the center also went green.
Not everyone felt the same way.
Tournament organisers worked overtime on the diving pool on Tuesday night, however they returned on Wednesday morning to find the water polo pool rapidly deteriorating.
Speaking to the New York Times on Wednesday, Games spokesman Mario Andrada revealed that there was a “sudden decrease in the alkalinity” in the diving pool, which made the water change colour. Andrada also said the pool would be blue again today (Aug. 10), but that’s not yet the case, according to Gizmodo. “We followed the normal routine”.
But it was safe, organizers said.
“That being said, I don’t know what the quality of the water was like 24 hours ago and I don’t know how they’re supplying water to the pool”. Algae grows in pools when the chlorine levels fall below a certain point. “Chlorine is most effective at pH levels much more acidic”.
Rio Olympics officials have attributed the alarming green tint of the diving pool used in the Games to a “a proliferation of algae”.
Alternatively, Goodale said, the greenness could have been caused by poor filtration.
It is a temporary facility that has its own filtration system.
“It doesn’t look from a visual perspective to be algae because you can see through the water and algae clouds the water”, he said.
British diver Tom Daley, who earned bronze in men’s synchronized 10-meter on Monday, tweeted a photo of the two pools next to each other and captioned it, “Ermmm… what happened?!”
There were a number of test runs at the aquatic centre leading into the Olympics, with hundreds of divers and swimmers using the pool to ensure conditions were up to scratch. In an Olympic stadium you expect stunning pools filled with sapphire blue water, but this year they’re looking more emerald and it’s kinda gross.
Usually the Olympics is a huge drawcard for tourists and a great way for a country to showcase the best it has to offer, but with so many dramas many are saying these Olympics are acting like more of a warning against travelling to Brazil.
Advertisement
USA men’s water-polo team captain Tony Azvedo told the Washington Post: “I could barely open my eyes for the final quarter (in his team’s match against France)”.
