"I've always wanted to dive with a white" - When Michael Phelps revealed his wish to race sharks

Michael Phelps is often referred to as the GOAT of swimming. In 2017, Phelps —one of the most decorated Olympians in history— decided to push the envelope and raced his strongest competitor ever, a shark. Phelps faced off against one of nature’s most gifted swimmers as part of the Discovery channel’s Shark Week. It is pertinent to note that the shark wasn’t real but a simulated one. The makers of the show decided not to pit the swimmer against a real great white shark, for obvious reasons.

Phelps unfortunately lost the 100m swimming race to the simulated great white shark. The Olympian did put his A-game forward as he clocked an average speed of 5.9 miles per hour during the race. However, the shark's swimming prowess remained unmatched. The computer-generated simulation of the animal crossed the finish line in 36.1 seconds, beating Phelps by two seconds.

It's interesting that the swimmer originally wanted to race a real-life shark and not a simulation. According to Michael Phelps, he always wished to “dive with a great white shark.” However, the Baltimore native had to settle for a race against a simulation as the other option was too dangerous to be done.

Michael Phelps was speaking to Jimmy Fallon about Shark Week's Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White when he revealed his wish. Phelps told Fallon that he was willing to go up close to his favorite animal in the open sea.

Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about his wish to race a shark, Phelps said:

“I’ve had an infatuation with sharks my whole life. I basically turn into a nerd when I talk about sharks. For me, I’ve always wanted to dive with a white [shark]. I told my wife I wanted to do it without a cage, and she said ‘well we have a family, I don’t know if that’s going to fly’.”

Furthermore, Phelps said that it was “really cool” to come face to face with a real shark. He went on to explain how close he got to a real shark before:

“I had the nose of a great white [shark] that close to my face. It was awesome, awesome.”

Speaking about the competition he was up against, Phelps said that he was no competition for the shark.

Phelps said that he could swim six miles per hour without the specially designed suit to swim like a shark. He went on to explain that he wouldn’t actually race a shark as it was dangerous. Fallon responded hilariously to this, saying:

“Of course! You’re a national treasure. You’re Michael Phelps. You can’t do stuff like that.”

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Michael Phelps' life post retirement

Michael Phelps hung up his swimming trunks post the 2016 Rio Olympics as one of the most successful Olympians in history. His 28 Olympic medal tally, including 23 golds, remains unrivaled. Despite his retirement, the former competitive swimmer continues to remain the top name in the sport.

Post retirement, Phelps is now spending his time as a mental health advocate. The adventure sports enthusiast revealed his struggles with ADHD and depression in 2018. Following this, he has been a vocal activist for athletes’ mental health.