"It just shocked your entire body" - When Michael Phelps recalled freezing in the ocean while 'racing' against a Great White Shark

Michael Phelps once raced against a simulated great white shark and couldn't beat it despite having the help of a modified monofin. The 23-time Olympic champion had to race in 24 degrees colder water than at the Olympics. He said afterwards the cold oceanic water shocked his whole body.

Phelps had been hailing the desire to race against sharks in open water for several years before a contest between him and a great white shark was televised on Discovery Channel in July 2017. The odds were against the American swimmer with his top speed only being 5.5 miles an hour while the great white shark nearly clocked 26mh.

“Honestly, my first thought when I saw the shark was, ‘There’s very little chance for me to beat him,'” Phelps said [as quoted by Hollywood Reporter].

Another disadvantage Phelps faced was being averse to the ocean's cold water, and while he had anticipated it, the 39-year-old said his entire body was shocked on jumping in.

“Before I dove in, I knew how cold it was going to be, and I knew that for me, as a swimmer, we don’t swim in this, and it basically just shocked your entire body. And I have this little tiny wetsuit on, so it’s absolutely freezing," Michael Phelps said.

To make the race competitive, Phelps was given a modified monofin, and the race was stretched to 100m as sharks can't sustain their top speed for longer periods. However, he still lost the race by nearly two seconds.

While Phelps did swim the whole 100m distance in the cold ocean water, the 39-year-old wasn't in the water at the same time as the shark and Discovery Channel received widespread criticism for promoting the event as a race with some calling it a 'fake shark'

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Michael Phelps defended decision to race against Great White Shark

DJ Khaled's We The Best Golf Tournament Welcome Reception - Michael Phelps in action - Source: Getty

Michael Phelps and Discovery Channel faced criticism for the overly hyped race against the great white shark, with many calling the shark 'fake' and 'digital'.

However, Phelps, who had stated before the race that he wasn't going to swim in the water at the same time as the shark, defended the decision and said he was honored.

"We did mention everything upfront. Some people just decided not to listen to some of the things that we said and that's not my fault. Sorry if you feel that way, this is something I have always wanted to do, and am honored to be able to do it," he said [via TMZ]

The 39-year-old has been in the ocean with sharks as well in a cage. He wanted to swim without a cage but said during an appearance on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show in 2017 that his wife Nicole Phelps stopped him.