Discovery released the schedule Thursday for its annual Shark Week, and one program was particularly eye-catching.
On July 23 at 8 p.m., Discovery will air Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White, in which 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will, yes, race a shark.
Here’s Discovery’s description of the event:
They are one of the fastest and most efficient predators on the planet: Sharks. He is our greatest champion to ever get in the water: Michael Phelps. 39 world records. 23 Olympic golds. But he has one competition left to win. An event so monumental no one has ever attempted it before. The world’s most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator: Phelps V Shark – the race is on!
We don’t know much more about how this will work, but it certainly sounds compelling. Phelps will have to outrace a giant fish that can swim up to 25 miles per hour while also not getting eaten. Exciting!
Phelps apparently has a thing for sharks, as he posted on Instagram last week that he was diving with great whites, something he has apparently always wanted to do.
Phelps insists he is truly retired from professional swimming, but apparently he’s making an exception for sharks.
Now all we need is Debbie Phelps sitting poolside next to the shark’s mother, and we’ve got the Olympics all over again. Though we have a feeling the shark will pose tougher competition than, say, Milorad Cavic.
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