Michael Phelps calls for rematch after losing race against shark

23-time Olympic gold medallst, Michael Phelps, has called for a rematch after he lost his swimming contest against a great white shark.

The USA star swimmer’s much-anticipated man-versus-beast race was aired on Sunday night on the Discovery Channel to kick off their annual shark week.

The great white shark beat the American legend by only two seconds in the 100m race done in a ‘freezing’ water.

Phelps, who reached a speed of 8.8 miles an hour and initially took a lead over the shark, challenged the great white to a rematch in warmer water on Twitter.

“Rematch? Next time..warmer water. #SW30 @Discovery @SharkWeek,” he wrote via his Twitter handle.

Phelps’ swim was superimposed alongside that of the great white shark, who swam the 100 metre-long course in South Africa in 36.1 seconds compared to Phelps’ 38.1 seconds.

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“I’ve raced the fastest swimmers on the planet, except for one,” Phelps said of the experiment.

“Honestly, my first thought when I saw the shark was, ‘There’s very little chance for me to beat him’.”

Phelps tried to match the great white’s speed, donning a monofin and wearing a special wetsuit that was only 1 millimetre thick to increase his speed.

“Before I dove in, I knew how cold it was going to be, and I knew that for me, as a swimmer, we don’t swim in this, and it basically just shocked your entire body,” he said. “And I have this little tiny wetsuit on, so it’s absolutely freezing.

“I think it’s impressive to see an animal survive this [cold water] and still have a top speed of 25 miles an hour.”

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