Rio Olympics: Green-tinged water to be drained from pool, officials say
The water of the diving pool at right appears a murky green as the water polo pool at left appears a greener colour than the previous day during a preliminary round match between United States and France in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Credit: AP / Matt Dunham
RIO DE JANEIRO — Olympic officials say they will drain the larger pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center to remove the green-tinged water.
The director of venue management, Gustavo Nascimento, says clean water from a nearby practice pool will be transferred to the main pool in time for the start of synchronized swimming on Sunday.
Nascimento says the move is necessary to ensure clear water for both judges and competitors during synchronized swimming.
The water in the adjacent diving well turned a dark shade of green on Tuesday. The larger pool — used for water polo and synchronized swimming — began to turn the same color the following day. Officials tried to use chemicals to make it clearer, but it didn’t work.
The diving pool will remain in use. Officials say there’s no health risk for the athletes.
Meanwhile Saturday, practice for the open water swimming competition at Fort Copacabana was canceled when the starting platform sank.
The platform was wrecked because of weather conditions two days before the 10-kilometer women’s race. It broke into three pieces, according to Mario Andrada, spokesman for Rio 2016.
Officials were working to recover the structure on Copacabana beach, where it was found. There was no immediate word if the starting point for the race would be changed.
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