Rio Olympics 2016: Diving pool turns green overnight forcing urgent health tests to check it is safe to use
THERE'S something in the water in Rio - and not just in filthy Guanabara Bay.
The crowd gathering to watch the Olympic women's 10 metres synchronised diving final were astonished to see that the deep water pool had changed COLOUR overnight.
When Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow claimed bronze in the men's competition the day before, the water had been the same sort of blue as in the swimming arena.
But by the time fellow Brits Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson were lining up for their event today, it had turned a turquoise green.
Daley himself was puzzled as he took his seat in the stands to watch his team-mates in action.
He tweeted: "Erm, what happened??"
Rio 2016 chiefs scrambled around desperately trying to discover the cause of the embarrassing problem.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that the pH level in the pool had risen to 9, an alkaline reading, when the optimum level is 7.4, much closer to neutral.
That would indicate there was not enough chlorine in the water, which in turn could have allowed green-coloured algae to grow.
A source alleged the venue managers had had to "shock" the pool back down to a normal pH just two hours before the competition began.
A spokesman said: “It's very important to the Rio 2016 organising committee to ensure a very high quality field of play.
“Water tests at Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre diving pool have been conducted and there was found to be no risk whatsover to athletes.
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“We're investigating what the cause of the situation was. I'm happy to report the competition was successfully completed.”
Team GB duo Couch and Toulson saw their hopes of a bronze medal dashed when they messed up their final dive with a place on the podium within reach.
Couch said: "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.
"As the sun went down it looked worse.
"I couldn't see you when I was underneath. I was like 'Lois, where are you?'
Toulson added: "We can't do anything about it, so just concentrate on what you're doing."