I guess when you're a retired Olympic athlete, you need to fill your time with something right?
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, with 28 medals in total. He's also a new dad to son Boomer, and recent retiree.
Phelps made the decision to retire after considering his future.
"The hardest thing is going to be not having the chance to represent my country. Not having the chance to stand on the medal platform and hear the national anthem," he says. "I'm at peace with how things ended. I'd rather have a healthy body in 20 years than kill myself more now. To me, it's a no-brainer."
What other people may consider a no-brainer is also...NOT racing a shark? But that's just what Phelps will be doing.
Continue to the next page to find out more, and watch the trailer!
On average, a great white shark swims 25mph. Michael Phelps has been clocked at 6mph. Seems like a pretty big discrepancy if you ask me.
However, Discovery Channel will be airing a new special during Shark Week, which will feature Michael Phelps racing a Great White Shark for fun. Pretty insane. Here's a description from the network:
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. 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. The world's most decorated athlete takes on the ocean's most efficient predator: Phelps V Shark "“ the race is on!
Phelps seems pretty excited about it, too.
"We just got off a plane from South Africa yesterday, we were down there for about a week," he said. "That one was fun, doing some stuff with Shark Week and for me, sharks are like my no. 1 favorite animal in the world, being able to see them face to face was pretty cool."
This is the trailer for the upcoming race. The assumption is he won't be getting CHASED by a shark, though wouldn't that be intense television?