The pool at the Olympic diving venue yesterday turned a "murky green color," providing a "stark contrast to the pool's light blue color the previous day and also that of the clear water in the second pool used for the water polo competition at Maria Lenk Aquatic Center," according to Beth Harris of the AP. A ROCOG statement said that water tests "were conducted and there was no risk to athletes." Officials "couldn't explain the color change, but said it's being investigated." ROCOG Exec Dir of Communications Mario Andrada said the green was caused "by a proliferation of algae." Diving Canada Chief Technical Officer Mitch Geller said, "Everybody was scratching their heads going, 'What's going on?' I think that the filter is busted, but I'm not sure. It's not really dangerous. It's not like it's toxic or dirty or any of that. It seemed to get worse over the course of the competition" (AP, 8/9). In N.Y., Sarah Lyall notes diving practice "went on as planned, and so did the women’s synchronized event." Competitors generally said that the "swampiness of the water did not put them off their form, although they found it weird and puzzling." The situation "overshadowed the news conference after the event, with reporters more interested in the state of the water than in the quality of the diving." Canadian diver Roseline Filion, who won a Bronze Medal in the synchro event, said, "The first dive we went out and we thought, Whoa, this is greener than it was earlier in practice. But we came here with a mind-set of ‘expect the unexpected.’ If the water was going to be orange, blue, green -- it didn’t matter” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/10). NBC's Peter Alexander said, "You got to feel for those divers. Imagine that conversation: ‘Yeah, we don’t know why it’s green but you’re totally good, just get right back in’” (“Today,” NBC, 8/10).
WATER POLO GOING GREEN: NBC's Paul Bermeister noted today's U.S.-France men's water polo match that the pool used for that competition also is turning slightly green due to a "proliferation of algae." He said, "There is no risk to the athletes' health" ("Rio Olympics," NBC, 8/10).
