First of all, let me tell you now—no, Michael Phelps did not get in the water with an actual great white shark. That would be crazy. Great, probably, but crazy. So probably don’t do that too. But Michael still did actually race against a great white shark. And the result is incredible.
The American swimmer and 28-time Olympic winner Phelps did the race for Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week, which aims to raise awareness and give proper education about sharks. Humans kill 100 million sharks every year. So if you think that sharks are the ocean’s most dangerous predators, think again. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s us. Humans.
The race was done in simulation–Phelps in the water wearing his own fins, versus a footage of a great white shark in the open water going after a prey. It was a 100-meter swim.
The result, well, the great white shark won. But here comes the surprising part. Phelps lost by only TWO SECONDS. The shark finished at 38.1 seconds, while Phelps came in at 36.1. That’s still very much impressive.
Finally, watch the race here:
The moment of glory for #TeamShark!!! #PhelpsVsShark #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/NWYp1CwiRa
— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 24, 2017
Think you can beat the shark? :p Share your thoughts in the comments.
