The company behind the temporary swimming pools used at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have refuted claims that the pools have fallen into disrepair and have revealed that the pools will soon be moved to permanent locations. Italian-based Myrtha Pools said the news concerning the deterioration of the facilities after the Games, which plunged Rio 2016’s legacy plans into crisis, was “partially incorrect”.
They revealed the main temporary swimming pool at the Olympic Aquatics Centre would be installed at Fortaleza do Sao Joao in Rio de Janeiro and the water polo pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre will be turned into a 50m pool in the Amazonian city of Manaus. The announcement by Myrtha Pools comes after a series of images showed the poor state of venues used at Rio 2016 just six months after the conclusion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The water in one of the warm-up swimming pools had turned orange and was littered with insects and mud, while the Aquatics Centre is also beginning to crumble, according to reports in Brazil.
“The news concerning the deterioration of Olympics’ sports facilities after the Games, including the swimming pools completed for the event, was partially incorrect,” the company said in a statement. “Footage shot clearly shows that the Rio 2016 temporary pools, completed by the Italian company Myrtha Pools, have already been dismantled and are ready to be sent to other venues for permanent installation before the end of the year.”
