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. 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. “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. 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 
 
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 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 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.