ONE OF THE swimming pools at the Rio Olympic Games has transformed from light-blue to murky green.
The bizarre change happened just before the women’s diving competition got underway in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center.
British diver Tom Daley took to Twitter to point out the transformation and ask, “What happened?” – the two pools were the same colour when he dived the day before.
Venue spokesman Simon Langford told AFP that water tests found “no risk whatsoever to athletes’ health”.
We are investigating to determine what the cause of the situation was, but we are happy to report that the competition was successfully concluded.
Meanwhile, addressing the strange colour of the pool China’s Chen Ruolin, who won five gold medals, said, “I don’t think this affected us in any way”.
The owner of AAA Pool Service in Santa Rosa, California, told The New York Times that there were two likely causes.
Steve Henderson said it was most likely a sudden algae bloom or a chemical reaction between chlorine and a metal in the water – most likely manganese.
He added that even a slight imbalance can cause a violent color change and that it’s a normal occurrence:
If they have manganese in the water, you will get a reaction depending on the level of chlorination.
Blame game
However, it looks like the Irish are getting the blame with many taking to Twitter to point the finger.
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