Smells Like Chlorine Although Ivonne has now completed over 20 triathlons, she is not particularly comfortable with the swimming portion of the event. Just smelling chlorinated pool water makes her heart beat faster and her muscles tense—physiological responses resulting from classical conditioning. How might this reaction be eliminated? If Ivonne were to stay away from the pool for some period of time, the association between the chlorine smell and the disorientation she feels in the water may fade in a process called extinction.