I was just wondering, will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?
Gareth Keenan, 2001
Michael Phelps must have been a fan of The Office.
16 years later, the Discovery Channel have answered the question - sort of. As part of the channel's 'Shark Week' they advertised (heavily) a race between a great white shark and Phelps. This promo video in particular is priceless.
Sadly for those who tuned in, they didn't get what they hoped for.
After an hour's buildup to the race that included the swimmer and a digital shark competing in a 50-metre pool, viewers were ready for the main event.
It's not lookin' good, Phelps pic.twitter.com/SzuUhzhGiU
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) July 24, 2017
Phelps did indeed 'race' a shark in the open water, but it was a digital version, and fans were not impressed.
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 pretending to be ok with Michael Phelps not racing a real shark pic.twitter.com/QnCF98NfBB
— Gabi Palamone (@Yo_Gabi_Gabi__) July 24, 2017
OMG. THE SHARK BEAT PHELPS. BY 2 SECONDS. Is the great white shark now the goat? This leaves more questions than answers.
— SwimSwam (@swimswamnews) July 24, 2017
The shark would win the race by two seconds, but the event was deemed as flop. Could we really have expected Phelps to safely race a great white shark? The insurance premiums would have been astronomical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydo7uyA1noA
