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.
Advantage: shark pic.twitter.com/mwaPRGFhHH
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 24, 2017
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.
When Michael Phelps said he was gonna race a shark this is how I pictured it happening #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/GiEfJssNhL
— Ryan Homler (@RHomler) July 24, 2017
Me realizing I can't ever get back the time I spent watching the fake shark race. #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/qTGCiermh2
— Kayce Smith (@KayceSmith) July 24, 2017
IT WAS A FAKE SHARK. Phelps raced a fake shark....and lost.
— Jessica Morrey (@JessicaMorrey) July 24, 2017
I feel cheated #SharkWeek2017 pic.twitter.com/nEABV6PRNZ
THERE'S NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A SHARK NEXT TO HIM I QUIT IT'S ALL BEEN A LIE. #sharkweek #michaelphelps
— SwimSwam (@swimswamnews) July 24, 2017
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