Mystery as Rio Olympic diving pool turns murky green overnight

The water in the Olympic diving pool has turned a bright green, baffling at least one diver who said she couldn't see her partner underwater and sparking questions about what went wrong.


The mysterious shade of the Rio pool on Tuesday, which hosts diving and waterpolo events, generated jokes about algae and dye on social media and overshadowed the women's 10-metre platform. 
The Rio diving pool greeted competitors with an usual shade of green.

 The problem may come from a faulty filter or problematic water quality, the executive director of swimming's world governing body FINA said.


Canadian diving coach Mitch Geller speculated that the water discoloration was likely the result of algae.


Although the green water was ultimately not harmful, some divers still said they made sure not to open their mouths.


As yet there is no clear explanation for the Rio diving pool turning green.


"The only thing we said is don't open your mouth in the water, just in case," bronze medallist Meaghan Benfeito said.

"No danger for divers, just not a good image for Olympic Broadcasting Services," said FINA's Cornel Marculescu, adding he was not sure how quickly the pool could be brought back to its normal hue.


The problem comes on top of worries over dangerous levels of pollution in Rio's Guanabara Bay and concerns that floating garbage could damage or slow sailors.


The pool's water was perfectly blue during the men's 10-metre platform event on Monday.

Still, some divers shrugged off the colour change.






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