Michael Phelps may be fast, but apparently not as fast as a great white shark.

In Discovery's highly anticipated Shark Week special "Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White," the 28-time Olympic medalist wore a special wetsuit and monofin to take on a great white – well, sort of – in a 100-meter race.

Unfortunately for fans, Phelps, with a time of 38.1 seconds, lost by 2 seconds. But that wasn't the biggest disappointment: Instead of facing a real shark, Phelps was shown alongside a computer simulation of a great white. The shark's "time" in the race was based on speed data collected by scientists.

Fans were not amused.

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Peggy Harris (foreground) stocks the shelves at Sandy's IGA, which is the only grocery store in town, Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in Sparta. Hancock County has one of the highest rates of childhood food insecurity in the country. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC