It’s not that easy being green for the Rio Olympics diving pool.
On Tuesday, one of the main pools for diving competition mysteriously turned a nasty shade of green. Competition still went on as the change in color was determined to be safe, with organizers saying algae caused the bizarre scene. It was also said the pool would eventually return to its original blue color. However, on Friday, the green remained and the pool has now been closed.
The water reportedly caused a couple athletes to have “itchy eyes.”
Rio 2016 confirm diving pool closed this morning while they continue to sort out the water. One or two athletes had "itchy eyes". Erm..
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 12, 2016
That’s concerning.
Not only did the green pool change colors, but according to a German diver the entire building “smells like a fart.”
The Olympic diving pool has been closed again because of water quality issues…a German diver says "the whole building smells like a fart"
— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) August 12, 2016
Who doesn’t like to dive into stinky, green water that will cause irritation in the eyes? That’s healthy, right?
FINA, the international governing body of aquatics, issued a statement as they try to determine exactly what’s going on.
“FINA can confirm that the reason for the unusual water color observed during the Rio diving competitions is that the water tanks ran out of some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process.
“As a result, the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discoloration. The FINA Sport Medicine Committee conducted tests on the water quality and concluded that there was no risk to the health and safety of the athletes, and no reason for the competition to be affected.”
The diving pool was supposed to be the venue for the women’s three-meter springboard preliminaries this evening. It will be interesting to see what organizers do if the conditions of the pool don’t improve. Making athletes dive into that water is hopefully off the cards.
For the sake of competition and potential health risks, let’s hope the pool is fixed and no events need to be canceled. The longer the pool continues to be green, the worse it looks and smells for organizers.
[Deadspin]
