Michael Phelps Wanted to Race a Shark Without a Cage

-How does this happen?
You go to Discovery Channel
and you go, "I like 'Shark Week'."
And -- 'Cause everyone likes "Shark Week."
-I've an infatuation with sharks my whole life.
And I basically turn into, like, a nerd when I talk about sharks.
I know a ton about them, and for me,
I've always wanted to dive with a white,
and I've always wanted to be in the cage.
-Dive? -Like, that's --
I want to do it. - Dive with the white -- dive.
-Yes. -I wanna dive with a white.
-'Cause you never know what's going to happen
this Sunday.
You don't want to die with a white,
You'll dive with the white shark.
Really? -I told my wife
I wanted to do it without a cage,
and she said, "Well, we have a family..."
-"We have a baby," yeah. -"I don't know if that's
really gonna fly," so.
-Someone asked me to do that once, to get in a cage,
and I go, "No!" -It's cool.
It's really neat. -Absolutely not.
I love to live vicariously through you.
-I had, like, a nose of a great white about
that close to my face.
-Why, what... -It was awesome.
Awesome. [ Laughter ]
-I would start crying. I would start crying...
[ Laughter ] ...underwater tears.
And it would be more saltwater than you've ever seen
in your life. I would be so frightened
by that. How big is that?
-Um, I mean, she was -- I think this one was only
about eight feet. -Oh, that's it?
[ Laughter ]
-Oh, never mind. -It's small when you --
Like, I had 13-foot hammerhead, out of a cage, swim this close
to my face. -Well, what do you do
when a shark comes up? You punch them in the nose,
right? -I mean, well,
a hammer that's so wide,
and their mouth is so far underneath,
you just take their hammer and move him
in a different direction. -Oh, this is totally insane.
[ Laughter ]
-But, so, to race a shark, you go --
It's not really fair, right?
'Cause how fast do great white sharks go?
-Whites can swim up to 25 miles an hour.
-Now, how fast can Michael Phelps swim?
-Uh, without that?
-Yeah. -Six miles an hour.
With that... -Six miles an hour?
That's how fast I drive, by the way.
Look at this. So, what is this thing called?
-It's a monofin.
Basically, it was designed so I can swim like a shark.
-That's you wearing it. -That's the full getup.
[ Laughter ] That's the full getup, yeah.
-So now, you got the whole -- now, does the suit help as well?
-It's a little buoyant, so it helps me float a little bit.
And honestly, the fin was supposed to
make me swim kind of like a shark, but...
-Does it work? -It makes me faster.
I mean, it definitely makes you faster, but...
-So then, the challenge will be, is the shark going to go
25 miles an hour, and can a shark go
in a straight line?
-So, we got him to swim in a straight line.
They won't go 25 miles an hour the whole 100 meters.
It's just in little, short bursts.
-How does the shark know if it'll go to one end --
Is it in the pool? -No, no no.
-Is the shark in the pool?
[ Laughter ]
-Because then, you've got to get that shark out of the pool.
That would be sweet -- No.
You can't even kick a shark out of the pool.
"All right, everybody out. Sharks only!
Sharks-only swim."
So, you're swimming in the ocean?
-Swimming in the ocean with a shark,
and we're not in there at the same time.
We have safety divers underneath.
-Of course.
-We actually ended up getting... -You're a national treasure.
You're Michael Phelps. You can't do stuff like this.
I don't even want you going in a cage with a shark.
So, shark school, you get in a cage
and you get right up and you...
-Shark school, I was out of the cage.
I had 15 sharks around me,
and nurse sharks lying on my leg.
Yeah, it was crazy. It was cool.
-I want to show a clip of you.
Here's Michael Phelps cage-diving with sharks.
Take a look at this.
-Coming in here.
Michael, guys?
Coming in on the bay.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
-That was a shark.
I saw that one!
-Yeah, that was it! That was a...
[ Cheers and applause ] How frightening was that?
I'm so happy you're here!
-I made it back alive. -And good luck on Sunday,
Phelps versus Shark, Michael Phelps!

Michael Phelps Wanted to Race a Shark Without a Cage

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