How to avoid getting psyched out by the green water in Rio

Rio's divers have been plunging into murky green water for several days now, as pool officials struggle to deal with algae, pH levels and other things you'd normally expect pool officials to have a handle on.

Amid the jokes and the explanations, though, how has it been for the actual athletes? And how does the color of the water affect their performance?

Several divers have spoken out about the conditions, with some saying it's been a hindrance and others insisting it has helped.

Canada's Meaghan Benfeito, for example, told reporters "it's not the same color as the sky so that was really on our side today." Team GB's Tonia Couch, however, said it prevented her from seeing her partner Lois Toulson. “It looked worse because the sun went in. I couldn’t see Lois when I went underneath,” she said after the pair came fifth in the 10 meter synchronized event on Tuesday.

China's Liu Huixia, who won gold on the 10 meter synchronized event, said she had to rely on her training to ignore the unusual hue. "When we were practicing to get used to this venue (the water) was always sky blue... But we're always mentally prepared for unexpected situations."

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So can things like green water actually put divers off, and if so what can they do about it?

Chris Carr, a sports and performance psychologist at St. Vincent Sports Performance who worked with USA Diving in Beijing, says it "depends on the mental focus and concentration ability of the diver."

"If they know that the water is 'safe' and only discolored, and they have good 'focus' skills (such as pre-dive mental routine and imagery) it would not be too impactful," he told Mashable.

Carr has experienced similar environmental changes in his career coaching elite athletes, such as World Cup Alpine Ski events disrupted by weather. As part of a comprehensive mental preparation plan he "encourages athletes to have a 'refocus' strategy that they can call upon if or when a distraction event occurs."

"When athletes practice their 'pre-performance' mental routines and incorporate mental rehearsal for performance, they can become more comfortable managing uncomfortable situations," he says.

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Elite athletes that do mental training don't get distracted by external events that are irrelevant to their athletic performance, he adds.

As for the water polo competitors stung by excess chlorine, they'll obviously have needed medical relief, Carr says. But "elite athletes learn how to adjust to discomfort in competition and not get distracted by it; or they have a good refocus routine when the distraction occurs."

Craig Wrisberg, a professor emeritus of sport psychology at the University of Tennessee adds that preparation and anticipation are key.

Diving performance is mostly "a combination of feel and focus," he told Mashable. The feel (or "arousal or emotion") can vary from relaxed to energized, and the focus cues ("most of which are kinesthetic and visual with diving") have an impact on performance, he said.

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"A major challenge with murky water would seem to me to be the need for the diver to be able to coordinate his or her actions with the perceived distance to the water.  It's possible that murky water may be visually perceived as further or nearer to the diver than clear water. That's why getting at least some practice attempts under murky conditions would be important for achieving the desired visual/kinesthetic calibration."

In short: Those who have practiced in those conditions would be able to perform with more confidence than those who have not.

So could the divers lodge complaints about the green water and even claim that it affected their performance?

Probably not. As Wrisberg points out, all divers faced the same conditions. Athletes who appeal when they face less than ideal conditions are those that are motivated to avoid failure rather than motivated to achieve success, he says.