(CNN/RNN) - Twenty-three-time Gold Medalist Michael Phelps raced a great white shark to kick off Shark Week on Discovery Channel Sunday - losing by just 2 seconds.
The moment of glory for #TeamShark!!! #PhelpsVsShark #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/NWYp1CwiRa
— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 24, 2017
Phelps and the shark were not in the water at the same time during the filming, and some viewers expressed their disappointment on social media.
When Michael Phelps said he was gonna race a shark this is how I pictured it happening #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/GiEfJssNhL
— Ryan Homler (@RHomler) July 24, 2017
But viewers can see him come face-to-face with more of the fierce creatures in another Shark Week episode set to air at 8 p.m. ET July 30 on Discovery. While training for the race in South Africa, Phelps spent some time in a shark cage. He said one shark came up to his nose, with only cage bars separating them.
The summer tradition of Shark Week is an eight-day marathon of shark programming for shark lovers.
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