When fans heard that 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps would be racing against against a shark on live TV they were excited, but it turns out the result wasn’t quite what they had in mind. 
 
 On Sunday’s Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White, the Olympic swimmer tested his racing ability against a number of sharks — but it was all simulated. Instead, Phelps raced against virtual versions of the sharks side-by-side based on their swim rate in a separate race. 
 
 The problem? Many fans apparently thought that the retired Olympian would be getting into a swim tank with real sharks. And they took their frustration to Twitter. 
 
 Phelps vs the shark is the biggest let down ever — MORGAN (@Boats_andMOs) July 24, 2017 
 
 Michael phelps is racing a CGI shark. The world is yet again a meme. — maxwell (@maxneary13) July 24, 2017 
 
 Sign of the apocolyse, and confirmation of the idiocy of America…..Phelps vs Shark. — Jim DeAntonio (@jimithing123) July 24, 2017 
 
 i’m disappointed because i thought Phelps was racing an actual shark #SharkWeek — olivia hager (@oliviahager) July 24, 2017 
 
 i thought they were gonna have michael phelps swim right next to a real shark. sad to say i am #dissapointed — T SIZZLE (@tesshawess) July 24, 2017 
 
 While it was announced ahead of time that Phelps would not be swimming side-by-side with live sharks during the race in Bahamian waters, fans were apparently still confused. 
 
 Still, Phelps was prepared for the experiment with the addition of a mermaid-like monofin and a specially designed wetsuit helped even the playing field a bit — and Phelps put on his game face and gave it his best shot. 
 
 In the end it turned out that Phelps both won — and lost. In the 50-meter race he beat the reef shark with a time of 18.7 but was blasted out of the water by the hammerhead with a time of 15.1. 
 
 MICHAEL PHELPS IS FASTER THAN A REEF SHARK pic.twitter.com/4fPqYYLgBR — SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) July 24, 2017 
 
 However, when it came to the main race against a Great White, Phelps lost the race by two seconds. 
 
 Discovery Channel 
 
 Despite the mixed results, Phelps has no hard feelings toward his competitors. In fact, proving an athletic point was never on his agenda. 
 
 “I’m a massive geek when it comes to sharks,” he told TIME. “Just being able to see a handful of species of sharks out of the over 500 sharks we have in the world — that just really excited me.” 
 
 Watch People Features: Michael Phelps, available now, on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on your favorite mobile or connected TV device. 
 
 He’s also hoping that this race will have a bigger take-away than just the results. Phelps, a longtime shark fan himself, wants to bring more awareness and knowledge about the species to the world. 
 
 “They don’t want to eat us. They’re not trying to kill us and trying to hurt us,” he explained. “They’re out there surviving just like we are on land. Hopefully with some of the lessons that I’ve learned and the do’s and don’ts in the shark world, hopefully people can learn and hopefully people can be able to swim free with the sharks.” 
 
 Discovery Channel 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: See Scott Hamilton’s New PEN Series 
 
 Previously, Phelps ventured down to Cape Town, South Africa with the assistance of the Discovery Channel Shark Week team, Phelps ventured down to Cape Town, South Africa to learn about the species and go cage diving in the deep. 
 
 “It’s been on my bucket list for years and years,” he told PEOPLE. “As soon as I got down there and saw the fin for the first time, I knew I was going to love it.” ||||| You’ve heard the hype: 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps versus 0-time Olympic medalist great white shark. Who is faster? 
 
 Well, the answer is unequivocally the Great White Shark, as Phelps’ top speed in a pool is just more than 5 miles an hour and great whites can swim up to 25 mph. Buuuuuut what if Phelps were given some advantages to even the playing field, say, a 1-millimeter-thick bodysuit that mimics the skin of the great white, and a special monofin? 
 
 That could help. And the opening night of Discovery’s 29th edition of Shark Week featured the 100-meter “race” between the great white and the swimmer considered the greatest of all time in Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White. We say “race” in quotes because, to the disappointment of some fans on Twitter, not only were Phelps and the shark not side-by-side for obvious safety reasons — and Phelps confirmed that much in his pre-race interviews — the shark was digitally rendered next to Phelps to simulate the showdown after scientists creatively determined the velocity of the shark swimming in a straight line by tempting it with a seal decoy. 
 
 Phelps did beat a reef shark and lose to a hammerhead shark in a preliminary 50-meter race in the Bahamas before heading to the much colder waters off South Africa for the big showdown. And what exactly happened there? (Skip the rest of this paragraph and just click on the video if you don’t want to know the results of the final race.) First, the shark was clocked at 36.1 seconds, so Phelps knew what he was up against when he began his end of the race. The monofin definitely raised his game, increasing his normal superhuman speed by a few miles an hour, but it simply wasn’t enough, as he finished in 38.1 seconds, two seconds behind the shark, which still is a lot closer than you probably thought it would be. (The digital match-up revealed that the race was very competitive up until the 25-meter mark when the shark burst ahead and cemented its victory with a speedometer-busting breach at the end.) 
 
 Phelps was gracious in defeat, though he did note the chilly waters were an obstacle and “shocked” his body, and he probably should have used a thicker bodysuit to stay warm. And, yes, he’s already up for a rematch. Though probably not against a mako shark, which can reach speeds of 45 to 60 miles per hour. 
 
 “You really see the speed that the animal has,” a freezing Phelps said after the race, ” how many different gears they can really switch into when they need to, under any circumstance.” 
 
 Check out this part-silly, part-scientific race, above, as well as some behind-the-scenes, how-they-did-that footage below. ||||| Can you blame him? 
 
 Social media users were tearing Michael Phelps to shreds for his “race” against a Great White shark on Sunday night — calling it a “scam” — after he chose to swim side-by-side with a simulation, instead of the real thing. 
 
 “Don’t say Phelps is racing a shark if you’re not going to put him against an actual shark,” 
 
 tweeted Breyanna Davis, who was one of countless viewers to get confused over the way the televised swimming competition went down. 
 
 “So you mean to tell me Michael Phelps didn’t even race a real shark? It was just a simulation. I’m mad. More like Shark WEAK!” said Frank Costa. 
 
 User @M_Frosti added, “smh Michael Phelps isn’t actually racing a shark. He’s just racing a simulation of a shark. Biggest scam of 2017.” 
 
 Those hoping to see the Olympic gold medalist swim side-by-side with the ocean’s most fearsome predator were sadly disappointed as Phelps and the Great White each took turns running the 100 meter race course at different times. 
 
 Researchers with the Discovery Channel first recorded the time of the shark, then let the 32-year-old swim by himself in the waters off the coast of South Africa — which to his credit, is a danger in itself. 
 
 During Phelps’ run, producers superimposed an image of the Great White on the other side of him to give the appearance of an actual, head-to-head swimming race. 
 
 While it ultimately helped keep the Olympian safe, the move didn’t sit well with viewers. 
 
 “I WAS EXPECTING MICHAEL PHELPS TO BE RACING NEXT TO A REAL LIVE WHITE SHARK,” tweeted Addie Ramsey. “IM REALLY UPSET RN.” 
 
 Gary Parrish wrote, “Turns out ‘Michael Phelps races a shark’ was really just “Michael Phelps swims alone and then compares his time to a shark’s time.'” 
 
 Meg Conley added, “Call me crazy but I thought they were gonna put Phelps up against a real shark not a simulation. I feel robbed.” 
 
 Though most people were upset, there were some who understood where Phelps was coming from. 
 
 “I’m enjoying the fact that people actually thought they’d put Phelps in open water with a shark to race,” tweeted Jessica M. 
 
 “Wait… people were actually mad that Phelps didn’t race an ACTUAL shark?” wrote Jeremy Gaunce. “Come on people.. use your heads lol.” 
 
 Maddie Pass concluded, “Those of that thought @MichaelPhelps was going to be racing side-by-side a great white are seriously idiots.” ||||| A shark approaches the cage that Michael Phelps is about to enter. 
 
 It's hard to imagine how Olympic-gold-medal swimmer Michael Phelps could win in a race against a great white shark, but the Discovery Channel is giving him every advantage in the book. 
 
 During Sunday's program, "Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White," Michael Phelps will wear a monofin — a single fin-like foot flipper that will help him swim like a shark — as well as a wetsuit known as the Phantom, which increases buoyancy and reduces drag, according its maker Aqua Sphere. 
 
 But even with these accessories, can Phelps beat a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), a fish that can swim upwards of 25 mph (40 km/h)? [7 Unanswered Questions About Sharks] 
 
 Michael Phelps wears the Lunocet swim fin and a phantom suit, both of which are designed to help him race against the shark. Credit: Discovery Channel 
 
 "My money is on the shark, even with a Phelps' monofin," Andrew Nosal, a marine biologist and shark scientist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, who is not involved with the Discovery Channel program, told Live Science in an email. 
 
 Few details are available about the 100-meter (330 feet) race, which the Discovery Channel filmed last month. But channel spokespeople confirmed that the race takes place off the coast of South Africa, although they wouldn't reveal the stroke used by Phelps, who has set 39 world records and won 23 Olympic golds. 
 
 But Phelps confirmed that the race was held in open water and that "we were very safe. We had about 15 safety divers around," he told Entertainment Weekly. In addition, Phelps told Time that he and the shark "weren't side by side." 
 
 "For me, the biggest thing was just trying to stay warm; that was something that was extremely challenging, just because the water is 55 degrees [Fahrenheit, or 13 degrees Celsius]," Phelps said in the Entertainment Weekly interview. "It's something that a shark can survive in, and a human really can't survive in water like that." 
 
 Unlike most other sharks, great whites are endothermic, or "warm blooded," and thus can survive and swim quickly in cold water, Nosal said. 
 
 "This means their core body temperature is warmer than [that of] the surrounding water, allowing their aerobic swimming muscles to contract harder and for longer periods of time," Nosal said. 
 
 This endothermy is maintained by a special arrangement of blood vessels called "countercurrent heat exchangers," which prevent metabolic heat generated from core muscle contractions from being lost to the surrounding water, he said. 
 
 Great whites use their extreme speed to ambush prey, such as elephant seals and other marine mammals, which are smart and nimble, Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology at California State University, Long Beach, told Live Science in a previous interview. 
 
 However, great whites aren't even the fastest of the endothermic sharks. The mako shark has been estimated to swim between 40 mph and 60 mph (64 and 96 km/h), Nosal said. 
 
 In contrast, Phelps has been fast … but for a human, not for a shark. 
 
 "In a race, I think my fastest speed was about 5 or 6 mph [8 to 10 km/h]," Phelps told USA Today. With the monofin, Phelps said he thinks he reached up to "8 to 10, maybe 12 [mph, or 13 to 19 km/h]. But for me, it actually gives me more of an appreciation for how fast [sharks] move through the water, especially at their size." [Aahhhhh! 5 Scary Shark Myths Busted] 
 
 Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps wears the monofin as he dives into the Bahamas' warm waters. Credit: Discovery Channel 
 
 It should be noted that several excerpts from the program made available to reporters paired footage of a shark with ominous, suspenseful music. This isn't uncommon — most movies and even nature documentaries play scary music when a shark swims onto the screen. However, menacing music makes people feel unjustly terrified of sharks, Nosal and his colleagues found in a 2016 study published in the journal PLOS One. 
 
 If people are frightened of sharks, they likely won't work to protect the animals, even those that are endangered, Nosal told Live Science in a previous interview. 
 
 The program will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, July 23, on the Discovery Channel. 
 
 Original article on Live Science. ||||| The most successful Olympian of all time was no match for one of the world’s most feared animals when the two were pitched against each other to kick off the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. 
 
 Michael Phelps swam a 100m stretch of warm Bahamas water in 38.1 seconds but lost out by two seconds to a great white shark swimming the same course. 
 
 The American swimmer is the world record holder for 100m and 200m butterfly as well as 400m individual medley. 
 
 He was even specially equipped with a wetsuit and monofin to mimic a shark’s movement through water. 
 
 In order for @MichaelPhelps to beat a shark, he must become a shark. #PhelpsVsShark is TONIGHT at 8p on @Discovery #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/1YjtRoEvGz — Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 23, 2017 
 
 But he could not compete with the species' 25mph average speed and its sheer size, with the animals reaching lengths of up to 6m. 
 
 He was more successful in a 50m practice run against a reef shark, which he completed in just 18.9 seconds. 
 
 The much hyped stunt aired on Sunday night as a premiere to Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. 
 
 The popular American TV channel has been hosting the programme since 1988 to draw in summer audiences and raise awareness about shark attacks and conservation. 
 
 Phelps: 'Greatest Olympian? It's a pretty neat title' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 show all Phelps: 'Greatest Olympian? It's a pretty neat title' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/25 DAVID ASHDOWN 
 
 2/25 Getty Images 
 
 3/25 Getty Images 
 
 4/25 Getty Images 
 
 5/25 Getty Images 
 
 6/25 Getty Images 
 
 7/25 Getty Images 
 
 8/25 Getty Images 
 
 9/25 Getty Images 
 
 10/25 Getty Images 
 
 11/25 Getty Images 
 
 12/25 Getty Images 
 
 13/25 Getty Images 
 
 14/25 Getty Images 
 
 15/25 Getty Images 
 
 16/25 Getty Images 
 
 17/25 Getty Images 
 
 18/25 Getty Images 
 
 19/25 Getty Images 
 
 20/25 Getty Images 
 
 21/25 Getty Images 
 
 22/25 Getty Images 
 
 23/25 Getty Images 
 
 24/25 Getty Images 
 
 25/25 Getty Images 
 
 Meanwhile Ryan Lochte, the second most decorated Olympic swimmer behind Michael Phelps, competed for viewers on National Geographic’s Shark Fest premiere. 
 
 Discovery Channel viewers were disappointed that Phelps was competing against a great white rather than a Mako, the fastest known shark. 
 
 It also became apparent, but only 57 minutes into the programme, that the race was actually a simulation and that Phelps was in fact competing against a computer-generated image of a shark based on a projection of its speed. 
 
 He completed the course in 38.1 seconds compared to the shark’s time of 36.1. 
 
 The program did include a real great white swimming in the 100-metre stretch behind a decoy of swimming seals. 
 
 Other highlights of the week will include a shark vs crocodile fight over sea turtles and a "great hammerhead invasion". 
 
 The programme has in the past attracted criticism for sensationalising the risk sharks pose to humans and for intentionally blurring the lines between drama and documentary. ||||| Michael Phelps Races Shark And the Winner is ... 
 
 Michael Phelps vs. Shark has a Winner 
 
 Gold medal winning Olympian Michael Phelps took on a great white shark ... and now we know who truly reigns supreme in the water ... sort of. 
 
 THE SHARK WINS!!! 
 
 Phelps kicked off Shark Week 2017 on Discovery Channel with a primetime special, "Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White" after weeks of anticipation for the man-against-beast event. The 100-meter open water "race" took place in Cape Town, South Africa ... but many fans are unhappy about what actually qualified as a race. 
 
 Most people thought Phelps didn't stand a chance considering his top swim speed is about 6 mph and great whites can reach speeds up to 25 mph ... but his team helped him even the playing field with a shark skin-like wetsuit and a monofin to emulate a shark's tail. 
 
 Turns out ... it didn't matter. Phelps lost the SIMULATED race to a great white shark by 2 seconds. 
 
 So ... Ryan Lochte was right?
– It was supposed to be the event of the summer. Well, OK, an event of the summer—but Michael Phelps fans still had high hopes for the swimming champ's much-hyped race Sunday against a bunch of sharks. They didn't read the fine print, however, and People and the New York Post document their disappointment on realizing the 32-year-old Olympic athlete, as part of the Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White special on the Discovery Channel, was pitted against computer-simulated versions of the superfish, whose swim rates had been calculated during previous in-water races. "Disappointed," "letdown," and even "biggest scam of 2017" were just a few of the pejoratives hurled on social media after viewers realized Phelps wouldn't be appearing side by side with his finned foes. "More like Shark WEAK!" complained one fan on Twitter, riffing on Discovery's popular annual event. With a time of 18.7 seconds in the 50-meter preliminary, Phelps—outfitted in a special wetsuit and monofin—"lost" to a hammerhead (time: 15.1), but "won" over a reef shark (18.9 seconds). Phelps lost the 100-meter competition (one of his world-record specialties, per the Independent) against the great white, 38.1 to 36.1, per TMZ. EW.com reports the two early races were in the Bahamas, while the main event was filmed last month in South Africa; the Washington Post notes that swim took place in 56-degree open water. Phelps acknowledged the chilly swim after the special aired, tweeting: "Rematch? Next time..warmer water." (Live Science explains how great whites manage in such frigid temps.) Other fans simply laughed at the outrage. "Wait... people were actually mad that Phelps didn't race an ACTUAL shark?? Come on people.. use your heads," one tweeted.