Michael Phelps is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time, having 28 Olympic medals in total. Yet then he kept pushing his limits. In 2017, Phelps decided to do the unthinkable, racing with a great white in open waters.

Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White aired on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, July 23, 2017, during their Shark Week event. The 44-minute episode caught the hype. But it didn’t quite live up to the billing when the fans saw Phelps actually take on a computer-generated shark. 

Even after clocking 38.1 seconds with the help of a wetsuit and fin, he still trailed the computer-simulated shark by two seconds, which completed the race in 36.1 seconds.

While Phelps embodies elite human athleticism, his top swimming speed without a monofin was just 5–6 mph. It was far below the at least 25 mph a great white shark can achieve in quick bursts.

Before the broadcast, the Discovery Channel promoted the race by sharing videos of Phelps and a shark swimming separately on the course. But when it came down to the broadcast, they had the footage of a computer-generated shark overlap with Phelps. 

Although the original event featured a computer-generated shark, before the show, Phelps joined the Shark Week team for cage dives with sharks. During the process, he learned about the species from experts.

"I had a white's nose come a little close to mine when I was in the cage, her mouth kind of just clamped right down on one of the bars," Phelps said about his experience. "But I basically just sat down there for about an hour and just watched sharks swim right past me."

With this, Phelps' dream came true.

Michael Phelps Shared About His Dream on The Tonight Show

The race did not happen in a pool, where Phelps normally competes, so he had no real advantage. Even though the cold ocean water was tough to adjust to, he continued to push himself.

Just three days before Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White aired, he made an appearance on The Tonight Show, starring Jimmy Fallon, to promote it. On the show, he opened up about his dream to swim with the great white shark.

“I've had an infatuation with sharks my whole life, and I basically turn into a nerd when I talk about sharks," Phelps said. "I know a ton about them. And for me, I've always wanted to dive with a white [shark], and I've always wanted to be in the cage.”

Even after retiring from competition, Michael Phelps remains an inspiration to swimmers everywhere for the way he challenged himself.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar