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Canadian diver Meaghan Benfeito dishes on green pool water in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO – Roses are red, violets are blue, and water is... green? Well, at least the water in the diving pool Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre at Olympic Park was green Tuesday afternoon for the women's 10-metre synchronized platform competition.
It happened overnight, as the water was a perfect blue just the day before, and the pool used for water polo right next to it remained in normal condition, which only amplified the changes in the diving pool.
The green water, however, didn't stop Canada's Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion from taking a bronze medal in the event. In fact, it may even have been a positive.
"I remember getting up on the tower and [Filion] didn't want to laugh because it's not really the blue that we're used to," said Benfeito."It's water, we know that it's water down there. The fact it was green actually helped because it is a visual sport. The fact that it was completely different from the sky helped us."
These are the first Olympics since Barcelona 1992 to use an outdoor diving venue, which more than likely explains the discolouration. From Yahoo's Jay Busbee:
Water in the diving pool is generally five to ten degrees warmer than the swimming pool, and is also outside. Warmer, outdoor water can promote algae growth. Just a theory here, but the type of chlorine treatment that works in one pool doesn’t necessarily apply to the other. There’s also the possibility of equipment failure.
Diving Canada's technical director Mitch Geller concurs, though the venue organizers have yet to confirm the cause.
"Usually that's a case of algae in the water," said Geller. "Everybody was scratching their heads going 'what's going on?' I think that the filter is busted but I'm not sure. We have a Canadian coming in tomorrow morning who's an expert in pools and we're offering him up to assist with things that they might be able to do if they're in trouble with the filters or what they can do chemically with the water."
Geller told Benfeito and Filion there shouldn't be any health risks from being in the green water, but they weren't going to take any chances.
"The only thing we said is don't open your mouth in the water, just in case," said Benfeito.
Better to be safe than sorry – or in this case sick.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
