Hold up, Michael Phelps is actually going to race a shark?
When you’ve beaten everyone else at swimming, we guess the next logical step is racing sharks? Well, maybe not, but Michael Phelps is going to race a shark, and we’re freaking out.
Seriously, we couldn’t make this up if we tried. The 23-time Olympic gold medalist is clearly ready for another challenge, and now he’s got one. In honor of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” Phelps will be taking on his fiercest competitor yet… a great white shark!
The race is being called Great Gold vs. Great White, and we really can’t wait to see it unfold.
Fingers crossed Phelps doesn’t channel his inner Finding Dory character and become, “shark bait!”
"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," the Discovery Channel press release reads via Rolling Stone.
"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," it continues. "The world's most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator."
The 31-year-old professional swimmer has a TON of records, swims like a fish, and really is the greatest of all time. Although he is technically retired, swimming against the ocean’s biggest predator was too exciting for him to pass up.
In fact, Phelps has already hit the water with sharks — well, he went inside a cage near them — and couldn’t wait to share the experience with his Instagram followers.
"I was able to do something that I had always wanted to do. Be in a cage and dive with great White sharks !! #bucketlist," Phelps captioned a shark-tastic picture last week.
Ah, it’s a freaking shark! What is the Maryland native thinking?
This is going to be insane.
But just like watching Phelps race in any Olympic Games, we can’t help but root for him.
To check out the wild swim yourself, tune into the Discovery Channel on July 23rd to see who wins the Great Gold vs. Great White race!
