Michael Phelps Wanted to Race a Shark Without a Cage

The most decorated Olympian of all time was willing to risk life and limb to beat a great white shark to the finish line on Discovery Channel’s upcoming special, “Shark Week’s Phelps Vs. Shark: Great Gold Vs. Great White.”

“I told my wife I wanted to do it without a cage, and she said “Well, we have a family,” Michael Phelps told Jimmy Fallon. “I don’t know if that’s really going to fly.”

Phelps, who can swim up to six miles-per-hour, used a “monofin” during the ocean race to help him move more like one of the world’s top predators. The special airs on on Sunday, July 23 at 8 p.m.