Michael Phelps‘ race against a great white shark, well, wasn’t what viewers expected. Many were disappointed to find out that the 28-time Olympic medalist actually swam against a virtual version of a shark. Watch the race in the video above!
Producers used CGI to simulate a shark swimming in the water next to Phelps, 32. A group of scientists worked to record the speed of a hammerhead and a great white shark for the event.
Phelps’ race aired on Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White, which kicked off Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. The athlete took on the challenge, beating the reef shark in a 50-meter match, but lost to the great white shark by two seconds.
“Rematch? Next time..warmer water. #SW30 @Discovery @SharkWeek,” Phelps tweeted on Sunday night.
Still, some fans complained about what they considered to be false advertising. “smh Michael Phelps isn’t actually racing a shark. He’s just racing a simulation of a shark. Biggest scam of 2017,” one person wrote.
A second added: “I didn’t think Michael Phelps would actually race the shark, but I’m kind of disappointed he’s not going to race the shark.”
Read more reactions below:
My face when I realized they weren’t going to put Michael Phelps in one lane and a shark in the other. #SharkWeek #PhelpsVsShark pic.twitter.com/ffFx32k1Nm
— Brooke Bond (@brookeashleyyb) July 24, 2017
“Clearly we can’t put Michael Phelps in one lane and a shark in the other”….. um okay, I thought that’s what was happening #PhelpsVShark pic.twitter.com/gzxMciS6R4
— Hannah Brugman (@HannahBrugman) July 24, 2017
Michael Phelps is racing a shark on live TV and I just wanna know how someone pitched that idea to Discovery Channel
— Nick (@NixKnax) July 24, 2017
Live footage of Shark getting ready to wipe the floor with Michael Phelps. #PhelpsVsShark #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/3HUVRV5Q1B
— KP (@kpheland) July 24, 2017
sounds like the whole Michael Phelps thing really… jumped the shark
— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) July 24, 2017
Michael Phelps racing the simulated shark was the biggest disappointment. Way too hyped! Shark Week took a huge L
— Brett Philion (@BrettPhilion) July 24, 2017
