Is Shark Week sports? This year, the answer is 100 percent yes. The Discovery Channel announced on Friday that Michael Phelps will race against a great white shark as part of its week of shark-related festivities.
Michael Phelps is going to race a great white shark on TV during ‘Shark Week’
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White will air on Sunday, July 23 at 8 p.m. ET.
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!
It’s unclear how this race will take place, because as it stands, this is the most one-sided competition in history. The fastest Phelps has ever swam is 6 miles per hour, which is incredible for a human — but horrible by shark standards. A great white shark swims an average of 25 miles per hour and even faster when attacking prey.
There is absolutely no way Phelps can beat a shark in an open competition — so there’s going to be some form of handicap to try and even this up a little. Or the entire purpose of this show is proving that no human ever has a chance of getting away from a shark.
I guess we won’t know until July.
h/t Washington Post
