The epic race was filmed off Mossel Bay, South Africa, and broadcast on TV July 23. Phelps was wearing a swimsuit resembling shark skin to help him cut through the water faster and a fin similar to that of a shark's.
To the disappointment of viewers, the Olympic legend wasn't actually racing a real shark; instead, he was battling for ocean supremacy with a computer simulation. Moreover, he lost the 100-meter race by two seconds to the computer-simulated fish.
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) 24 июля 2017 г.
I WAS EXPECTING MICHAEL PHELPS TO BE RACING NEXT TO A REAL LIVE WHITE SHARK…IM REALLY UPSET RN @Discovery
— Addie Ramsey (@addiee_ramsey) 24 июля 2017 г.
Should've called it Michael Phelps vs a Computer Generated Simulation. Huge letdown @Discovery
— Jimmy Kozeny (@jkoz19) 24 июля 2017 г.