Michael Phelps Will Race a Great White Shark for Shark Week

Michael Phelps has defeated nearly every human he’s gone up against in the water, and now he’s moving on to the animal kingdom.

As part of this year’s wildly popular Shark Week, the 28-time Olympic medal winner will race a Great White shark:

As if the announcement itself weren’t enough to get viewers excited, Discovery’s statement bills the aquatic showdown as a must-see event: “They are one of the fastest and most efficient predators on the planet: Sharks. He is our greatest champion to ever get in the water: Michael Phelps. 39 world records. 23 Olympic golds. But he has one competition left to win. An event so monumental no one has ever attempted it before. The world’s most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator: Phelps v. Shark — the race is on!”

This certainly sounds like great TV — but Phelps has his work cut out for him. Whereas Phelps averages between 5.25-6 mph in the water, a Great White can swim up to a whopping 25 mph.

Nevertheless, it seems like Phelps is preparing. Last week he scouted the competition:

I was able to do something that I had always wanted to do. Be in a cage and dive with great White sharks ?!! #bucketlist

A post shared by Michael Phelps (@m_phelps00) on Jun 10, 2017 at 9:52pm PDT

Shark Week begins July 23 on Discovery Channel.

Share this if you’ll be watching Michael Phelps race a Great White shark!