Michael Phelps vs. great white shark: Who won?

“39 world records. 23 Olympic golds”. But sharks don’t care about medals. And swimming alongside these high-speed predators is the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.

He took part in the documentary to aid shark conservation and show they “really aren’t out to eat us”.

Shark Week starts today on Discovery, and will run all week until next Sunday, July 30.

Obviously, watching Shark Week makes you terrified of sharks. As a result, while the great white shark still holds a huge advantage, it is nowhere what it would be based on an initial inspection. Things were not looking good.

A third wrote: “I didn’t sit here for an hour to watch Michael Phelps race an animated Great White shark”. This special focuses on three of the smartest and fastest: makos, great whites and porbeagles. Michael Phelps races a Great White shark, and, tbh, we’re not surprised!

In the end, Phelps actually did shockingly well.

Phelps did not line up next to a shark to try to beat him to the finish line.

Luckily for Phelps, sharks are not allowed to compete in the Olympics. The freezing cold weather and Phelps’ super-thin wet suit prohibited him from racing to his full capacity. Although Phelps ended up beating the reef shark when it, uh, exhausted down the stretch, the hammerhead crushed him by over three seconds, despite Phelps having a special fin on his feet to put him closer to a level playing field. This year, Shark Week will investigate the supposed “serial killer” patterns of a great white shark off the California coast.

One viewer commented on social media that the show would go down as ‘one of TV’s most hyped flops’. But who cares! It’s Michael Phelps racing a great white shark!

Interviewed by the Discovery Channel afterwards, the shark was not gracious in victory. No idea how they convinced the shark to do it, though.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “It’s hard for me to race something that has the speed that they have, and how fast they can turn on a dime is something that’s truly incredible, especially with the size of these animals”. But Twitter wasn’t necessarily happy that it was “just a simulation”. Just be ready for it, because I don’t want to be contained in here.