If you've been watching the diving since the beginning of the Olympics, the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed the water turned colour. Having begun the tournament as the typical azure blue, it suddenly changed to a murky green, with no explanation.
Some commentators pondered the reasons why, while others simply ignored the change in colour, partly because they could offer no explanation bar the 'ah, it's to welcome Paddy to the diving board' gags. (A joke subverted by the lack of Irish divers, with Oliver Dingley the sole Irish representative).
While unable to explain the change in colour, organisers assured athletes the water was safe to enter. However, water polo players later complained that their eyes were itchy having come in contact with the water.
Organisers have finally been able to explain the change in colour: it was a result of the addition of Hydrogen Peroxide to the water, something they were unaware was happening. This wasn't a few drops from a pipette: the amount of Hydrogen Peroxide added came to EIGHTY LITRES.
It is believed that the chemical was added by an independent contractor in a bid to clean the water, but the reaction with the chlorine in the water caused the later chemical to be neutralised, thereby allowing algae in the water to flourish.
The fact it took the organisers so long to find out who had dumped EIGHTY LITRES of chemicals into the Olympic pool is patently bananas.
Gustavo Nascimento, known as Rio 2016's director of venue management/possessor of poison chalice, was quoted as saying the following:
This is a way of cleaning swimming pools but you're not supposed to combine it with chlorine.
We were not consulted, our contractor's failure is our failure.
The water polo pool has now been drained, but the diving pool will remain as is. Organisers will continue to treat the latter pool over the weekend, in the hope it returns to normal by next week.
The surprising arrival of the pool guy hasn't screwed this many people over sinc- (we're a family website -Ed).
