During Sunday's program, "Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White," Michael Phelps will wear a monofin — a single fin-like foot flipper that will help him swim like a shark — as well as a wetsuit known as the Phantom, which increases buoyancy and reduces drag, according its maker Aqua Sphere.
But even with these accessories, can Phelps beat a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), a fish that can swim upwards of 25 mph (40 km/h)?
Few details are available about the 100-meter (330 feet) race, which the Discovery Channel filmed last month. But channel spokespeople confirmed that the race takes place off the coast of South Africa, although they wouldn't reveal the stroke used by Phelps, who has set 39 world records and won 23 Olympic golds.
But Phelps confirmed that the race was held in open water and that "we were very safe. We had about 15 safety divers around," he told Entertainment Weekly. In addition, Phelps told Time that he and the shark "weren't side by side."
"For me, the biggest thing was just trying to stay warm; that was something that was extremely challenging, just because the water is 55 degrees [Fahrenheit, or 13 degrees Celsius]," Phelps said in the Entertainment Weekly interview. "It's something that a shark can survive in, and a human really can't survive in water like that."
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