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Why did the Olympic diving pool water turn green?

By Adam Addicott

A general view shows green water in the pool of the diving event before the Women's Synchronised 10m Platform Final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
A general view shows green water in the pool of the diving event before the Women's Synchronised 10m Platform Final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Following endless theories about what happened at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre in Rio de Janeiro, it is now known what made the crystal clear Olympic pool turn into a green monstrosity.

Confusion and Curiosity struck Olympic divers as they discovered that they will be jumping into what looked like a pool of green jelly. The dramatic change of color resulted in many people trying to figure out what happened. One theory was that it was intentionally done to coincide with the Brazilian colors.

Even the divers saw the funny side of the situation. Great Britain’s Tonia Couch spoke about her experience of diving into the pool. Couch finished fifth in the 10m synchronized platform with her partner Lois Toulson.

“It’s so green. But, we got a personal best score, so maybe we should ask for a green pool from now on. I kind of liked it.” Couch joked, via The Daily Mail. “As the sun went down it looked worse. I couldn’t see when I was underneath. I was like ‘Lois, where are you?’”

The color change triggered an urgent investigation by officials and the governing body of Swimming, FINA, has confirmed that the color chance was caused by a lack of chemicals in the water tanks.

“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.”

It isn’t just the diving pool that has turned to a shade of green. On Wednesday the water polo pool started to turn to a darker color in what is presumed to be because of the same problem.

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