US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps race against a big shark but lost

Olympian, Michael Phelps, the most successful and decorated Olympian of all time was no match for one of the world’s most feared beast when the two were pitched against each other as part of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week on Sunday.

Phelps, who has won a total of 28 medals, took part in the competition, dubbed “Phelps v Shark: Great Gold v Great White.”

The retired competitive swimmer, who is the world record holder for 100m and 200m butterfly as well as 400m individual medley swam a 100m stretch off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa in 38.1 seconds but lost out by two seconds to the virtual Great White whose age is unknown in what was a close call.

It just goes to prove that mankind can’t out-swim sharks.

The moment of glory for #TeamShark!!! #PhelpsVsShark #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/NWYp1CwiRa

— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 24, 2017

He was even specially equipped with a wetsuit and monofin to mimic a shark’s movement through water.

The underwater opponents were supposed to swim side-by-side, possibly in a pool of some sort, but each took turns running the 100 meters at different times.

To assure of his safety, Discovery placed numerous divers around the Olympic gold medalist to keep an eye on the predators.

Discovery later super imposed an image of the shark on the other side of Phelps to give the appearance of an actual 100 meter swimming race.

Braving the frigid 53 degree waters, the 32-year-old ultimately tried to beat the shark’s time but the shark was just too fast for him.

Before the contest, most thought the Olympian, who can swim at around 6mph, didn’t stand a chance against the simulated shark’s top speed of 25 mph.