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Even Olympic selfies are complicated by Koreas’ rivalry

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Chance of showers, thunderstorms possible for remainder of the week

<p>RIO DE JANEIRO &#8212; Green, not gold, was the color of the day at the Olympic diving venue.</p><p>Sure, China won its third consecutive gold medal on Tuesday, but the buzz was about the color of the water in the diving pool &#8212; a murky green.</p><p>That was in stark contrast to the pool&#8217;s light blue color the previous day and also that of the clear water in the second pool used for the water polo competition at Maria Lenk Aquatic Center.</p><p>British diver Tom Daley, who earned bronze in men&#8217;s synchronized 10-meter on Monday, tweeted a photo of the two pools next to each other and captioned it, &#8220;Ermmm&#8230;what happened?!&#8221;</p><p>Water quality has been a major issue surrounding the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but in the ocean and lagoons, not the pools.</p><p>A statement from Olympic organizers said water tests were conducted and there was no risk to athletes. They couldn&#8217;t explain the color change, but said it&#8217;s being investigated.</p><p>Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said the green was caused &#8220;by a proliferation of algae.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This was because of heat and a lack of wind,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We did all the chemical tests. The pool will be blue tomorrow (Wednesday).</p><p>&#8220;If it were green and yellow, we would know it was a patriotic thing,&#8221; Andrada joked, referring to Brazil&#8217;s national colors.</p><p>Canada team leader Mitch Geller suspected the cause was algae that multiplied quickly in the day&#8217;s warm and sunny conditions.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody was scratching their heads going, &#8216;What&#8217;s going on?&#8217;&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think that the filter is busted, but I&#8217;m not sure. It&#8217;s not really dangerous. It&#8217;s not like it&#8217;s toxic or dirty or any of that. It seemed to get worse over the course of the competition.&#8221;</p><p>The kale-colored water wasn&#8217;t just a cosmetic nuisance; it was so dark that divers couldn&#8217;t see the bottom of the pool.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re used to seeing the water,&#8221; Geller said. &#8220;The visuals are really, really important in diving.&#8221;</p><p>Chen Ruolin, who teamed to win gold with Liu Huixia, said it didn&#8217;t affect them.</p><p>Paola Espinosa of Mexico, competing in her fourth Olympics, noticed the pool getting increasingly darker throughout the six-round competition. But she said the water didn&#8217;t smell or affect her skin.</p><p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen anything like it before,&#8221; Espinosa said. &#8220;But it&#8217;s Brazil and everything is green down here, so maybe it was a decoration to make it look pretty.&#8221;</p><p>American Jessica Parratto wears contacts and said the water didn&#8217;t burn her eyes.</p><p>Bronze medalists Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion of Canada tried not to laugh as they gazed at the water from atop the 33-foot tower. They liked that the dark green color offered a helpful contrast with the blue sky.</p><p>&#8220;The only thing we said is don&#8217;t open your mouth in the water, just in case,&#8221; Benfeito said.</p><p>Geller said a Canadian pool expert was coming in Wednesday and he would offer to help Rio organizers chemically treat the water if there&#8217;s a problem with the filter.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what it&#8217;s going to look like tomorrow,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I hope it&#8217;s not a swamp.&#8221;</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press Writers Carlos Rodriguez and Stephen Wade contributed to this report.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">China's Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_111822695-5879ff240bc645878b05d6af203077f5.jpg</photo0><caption0>China's Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_111822695-14021a07d4d041cfab249b924d5c7809.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Canada's Meaghan Benfeito, top, and Roseline Filion compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_111822695-14021a07d4d041cfab249b924d5c7809.jpg</photo1><caption1>Canada's Meaghan Benfeito, top, and Roseline Filion compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_111822695-83feb1faf8084efbb2ddc0a5c86556b6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Malaysia's Cheong Jun Hoong and Pandelela Rinong, bottom, compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_111822695-83feb1faf8084efbb2ddc0a5c86556b6.jpg</photo2><caption2>Malaysia's Cheong Jun Hoong and Pandelela Rinong, bottom, compete during the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving final in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Beth Harris</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Green, not gold, color of the day at Olympic diving pool