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Nation & World News

WATCH: Michael Phelps races great white shark ... sort of

Michael Phelps Ends Olympic Career Strong
By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
July 24, 2017

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

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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.

Explore>> Watch the clip here

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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Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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