RIO DE JANEIRO — Skies and pools both darkened Wednesday as the sun-splashed Olympics in Rio de Janeiro gave way to gray clouds and murky green waters.
The Rio Games were drenched in rain and continued questions about why the diving well and water polo pools look so much like neglected aquariums.
A decrease in the alkaline level in the diving well Tuesday afternoon led to the green color, organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said.
Rio organizers insisted the athletes weren’t at risk in the green pools. They were on the waters and slippery roadways, though.
Strong winds rattled palm trees along the coast and whipped up waves on the scenic lagoon where rowing was postponed for a full day for the second time this week.
Under dark skies, cyclists faced lashing rain and wind on the time-trial course along Rio’s southern coast.
American Kristin Armstrong won the race.
Defending champion Mexico was eliminated from the men’s soccer tournament with a 1-0 loss to South Korea. In boxing, Kansas fighter Nico Hernandez is guaranteed to win at least a bronze and become the first American to medal in the Olympics since 2008.
Other highlights from Day 5 at the Rio Games:
U.S. women win relay: Katie Ledecky led the United States to a gold medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics. Australia claimed the silver and Canada took the bronze.
Unbeaten record: Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross have finished the Olympic group stage unbeaten, but not before losing their first set of the Summer Games. The U.S. women beat Switzerland 21-13, 22-24, 15-12 on Wednesday night to win their pool with a 3-0 record. They now await news on an opponent for the round-of-16, which begins Friday.
On to quarterfinals: The United States women’s field hockey team advanced to the Olympic quarterfinals after defeating Japan 6-1.
U.S. women roll: Diana Taurasi scored 22 of her Olympic-best 25 points in the first half to help the U.S. beat Serbia 110-84 in women’s basketball and advance to the quarterfinals.
Mexico eliminated: Defending champion Mexico has been eliminated from the men’s soccer tournament after 1-0 loss to South Korea.
Fencing silver: Third-ranked Aron Szilagyi of Hungary beat upstart American fencer Daryl Homer to win gold in men’s sabre.
Phelps, Lochte advance: Michael Phelps has advanced to the final of the Olympic 200-meter individual medley as the top qualifier. Swimming next to teammate and longtime rival Ryan Lochte, Phelps put up an effortless-looking time of 1 minute, 55.78 seconds Wednesday night to claim the prime middle lane in the final. Lochte will be right next to him again, ranking second in 1:56.28.
Speed king: Eighteen-year old Kyle Chalmers of Australia is the new king of speed at the Olympics.
Chalmers dethroned defending champion Nathan Adrian of the United States in the final of the 100-meter freestyle. Chalmers won with a time of 47.58 seconds. Pieter Timmers of Belgium claimed the silver in 47.80, while Adrian made it onto the medal podium — albeit with a bronze this time — in 47.85
Swimming shocker: Kazakhstan has its first Olympic swimming medal, and it’s golden. Dmitriy Balandin pulled off a stunning upset in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke, winning from the eighth lane to put his central Asian country on the swimming medal stand for the first time. Josh Prenot of the United States claimed silver and Anton Chupkov of Russia landed the bronze.
Ebner eliminated: Nate Ebner, the safety for the New England Patriots who took a break from training camp to fulfill his Olympic dream, sprinted from almost halfway to score a try in the right corner against Fiji to make it 24-19, piling the pressure on Madison Hughes. But the U.S. captain and goal kicker missed the conversion from out wide, leaving the margin at five. Less than that and the Americans would have advanced.
Life’s a beach: The American beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson were eliminated from the Olympics on a tiebreaker. That’s the first U.S men’s team to fail to advance out of pool play since the 2004 Athens Games.
