The Discovery Channel's Shark Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year each summer. And this year, they promised us one of the most exciting shows of all time! American Olympian Michael Phelps was going to race a shark on tv in the middle of the ocean! What could possibly be more exciting than this?!
Michael Phelps is an American Sports Hero as he is the most decorated and talented swimmer to ever appear in the Olympics. Although he "retired" after the last Olympics, rumors have been swirling that he is getting ready to train one last time for the Summer Olympics in 2020. There have been USA male and female swimmers performing at the highest levels into their late 30's and Phelps will only be 35 for the next Olympics. No one works out harder than him or has a better pedigree for the water.
But as far as his performance goes on Sunday night, it was not exciting, it was brutal to watch and he didn't even race a real shark. This was the dumbest show I have ever seen. There was no actual Shark to race. It was a pathetic stunt that left most voters disappointed.
At no point was Michael Phelps racing in the water alongside any type of shark. Unfortunately, the producers pulled swimming spead data from sharks and created a time that the shark would take to get from the start to finish. All Phelps did was put on a wetsuit with fins and dive in the ocean with the stop watch going. Phelps was a couple seconds slower than what a great white would have taken. And that was it. Phelps and Discovery were ripped apart on social media. A show that could have been miraculous was nothing more than a dud. Why not have Phelps side by side with a shark in a controlled race where the shark was in his own side of the ocean and Phelps was on the other side of the secure wall?
Did you watch the "race" or show? What did you think? I love to hear your comments! Cheers!