“OK Dude, if You Really Have Common Sense…”: Michael Phelps Couldn’t Believe Fans Getting Angry With Him for Faking a Nearly Impossible Stunt

Michael Phelps is arguably one of the greatest swimmers in the world. His incredible wing span and ability to push through the water in the finishing moments of the race make him unfathomable. Michael is the greatest and the most decorated Olympian of all time. Fans always wonder how fast he can swim and if will he be able to race a shark.

The comparison of Phelps and a fish seems to be very vague, but it can be explained through a perspective of thought. How runners are compared to racing cars, similarly, Phelps is compared to sharks.

Michael Phelps encountered angry fans

Michael Phelps is often compared to the great white shark. Fans are curious to know who would win the race between the mighty killer of the ocean domain and Phelps. The desire of his fans was fulfilled by Discovery. They organized a match on their hit series Shark Week. The producers of the show arranged for a Phelps against the great white shark race to see if Phelps could beat the terrifying predator.

However, to the fans’ dismay, the great white shark was in the form of a virtual simulation. The face-off was very close, and Phelps performed better than their expectations. The virtually simulated shark beat Phelps with a mere gap of 2 seconds. A lot of people approach Phelps, and they complain to him about the race not being against a real shark. “I’ll run into people daily or weekly like, ‘Oh yeah, you didn’t even race the shark”, he said revealing the conversation he had with people who approached him.

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Describing his reaction to such people, he said, “I’m like, ‘OK dude,’ if you have common sense, you’d understand I’m not going to get into the water and swim next to a great white shark.” Michael Phelps could not believe that fans were getting angry with him for faking a nearly impossible and deadly stunt.

Phelps’ unbelievable records

The legendary swimmer has set multiple records throughout his career. He held the national record in the 100-meter butterfly event for the under 10 categories. A lot of the records that he set as a junior are still held to this day. Phelps started training under Bob Bowman at the age of 11 at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Bowman turned Phelps into a disciplinarian. The culmination of rigorous hard work and staunch discipline transformed Phelps into a performance beast.

Throughout his career, Phelps has set 39 world records. Out of the 39 records, 29 were in individual events and 10 were in relay events. He is the swimmer with the most number of world records, recognized by FINA. As of 2021, he still holds the world records in the 400m individual medley, 4 x 100m freestyle relay, and the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay.

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