We have a winner in that wild-sounding Michael Phelps vs. shark race
Famed 23-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps is fast in the water.
But he wasn't quite fast enough for a great white shark, as viewers found out on Sunday night. The animal and the swimmer competed against each other in a Discovery Channel special aptly named Phelps vs. Shark.
SEE ALSO: A brief history of Shark Week
It wasn't a complete blowout, with the shark beating Phelps by only two seconds.
One thing worth noting is that the shark isn't actually in the water with him. He's swimming against the time of the shark, which has been digitally superimposed next to him on screen.
"Well, we're not in the water at the same exact time. I think that's the one thing we all wanted everybody to know — I was safe, which is number one," Phelps told Good Morning America on Thursday.
Seriously, did any of y'all really think they were putting the greatest Olympian of all time in open water next to a shark? #PhelpsVsShark
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) July 24, 2017
But some people were disappointed by the technicalities of the race, which, let's face it, would've been pure madness and extremely uninsurable.
Call me crazy but I thought they were gonna put Phelps up against a real shark not a simulation. I feel robbed. #SharkWeek #PhelpsVsShark pic.twitter.com/XgdEphkl6m
— Meg Conley (@MegDownSouth) July 24, 2017
Turns out “Michael Phelps races a shark” was really just “Michael Phelps swims alone and then compares his time to a shark’s time.”
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) July 24, 2017
Me realizing I can't ever get back the time I spent watching the fake shark race. #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/qTGCiermh2
— Kayce Smith (@KayceSmith) July 24, 2017
The real winner of Phelps Vs Shark was anyone who didn't waste an hour of their life. #SharkWeek
— Jack Scott (@Jacked_Scott) July 24, 2017
find me a better metaphor for the state of western civilization than michael phelps losing to a digital simulacrum
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 24, 2017