Eearlier in the day all media houses carried the news that Michael Phelps raced a shark, well now it is learnt that it was a hyped news, according to NDTV Sports.
Earlier, it was believed that Michael Phelps, who has a long list of Olympic medals, 28 to be exact but it seems like that did not stop him from taking on the King of the ocean, ‘The Great White Shark’. The race was the ‘talk of the town’ as fans were excited in the anticipation of the result. Phelps went up against the Great White Shark in a 100 m race. In order to make it an evenly matched affair, Phelps used a monofin to enhance his speed. The monofin was attached to his legs making his movement much swift below the water. He raced the shark who is usually 5 times faster than his speed, hence, the monofin.
The race started and it seemed to be a neck-to-neck competition. Eventually, Phelps was outclassed by the shark but not by much. Phelps finished the 100 m race in 38.1 seconds whereas the shark did it in 38.1 seconds. It was surprising to see that he came too close to the shark keeping in mind that sharks can swim at a speed of 25mph in short bursts.
In the show, ‘Phelps vs Shark’ on Discovery Phelps was prepped for the race using special suits. The show went on for almost an hour which made the viewers think that Phelps will be racing a real shark.
Though they were disappointed that it was a computer-generated simulation of shark. It might seem bizarre that the fans wanted him to race a real shark given the danger of getting eaten alive but athletes have raced animals, dolphins in the past.
Advantage: shark pic.twitter.com/mwaPRGFhHH
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 24, 2017
Phelps tweeted this after losing the race to the shark.
Rematch? Next time..warmer water. #SW30 @Discovery @SharkWeek
— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) July 24, 2017
Tweeple were not pleased with Phelps racing a computer-generated simulation of the shark as they felt cheated given the build up of the race.
Michael Phelps not racing a real shark is like being sold Kanye tickets and then watching a Kanye hologram perform
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) July 24, 2017
When you find out Phelps not racing a real shark. #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/COeF8G7ZL7
— DKT (@darleneturner53) 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
WE WANTED TO SEE PHELPS RACING NEXT TO A REAL SHARK. WE WERE ALL TRICKED. #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/CrNKk0x49I
— Brittany (@KickinitwithB) July 24, 2017
Me after finding out that Phelps is racing a cgi shark instead of a real one pic.twitter.com/KGo0D1TN9u
— danny phantom (@teainmyeye) July 24, 2017
The entire world thought it was going to be a real shark. I feel robbed. #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/iwtSGCBybd
— Dana Cat (@DanaCatM) July 24, 2017
Michael phelps ain’t even racin a real shark? I feel… betrayed @Discovery #SharkWeek2017 pic.twitter.com/3e0w4zmCsN
— maggie (@imschmags) July 24, 2017
So it turns out Michael Phelps is only racing a simulation of a shark. If he wins, next week he goes up against Mario Kart. #SharkWeek
— T.R. Morley (@TheRealMorley) July 24, 2017
Former World Champion in the 100m freestyle, Italian swimmer raced with real dolphins in a swimming pool back in 2011. US track and field athlete Jesse Owens raced a horse. The list does not end here, NFL player Dennis Northcut raced an ostrich and was able to beat the bird. Even South African Rugby legend Bryan Habana raced a ‘cheetah’ to spread awareness of the endangered species.
