When you see a shark are you like: Hey man, let me race that thing!!!

Of course not! You are a sane person. The same cannot be said of Michael Phelps, an insane person who is going to race a Great White shark.

Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, will take on one of nature's most feared predators as part of a Shark Week stunt. Phelps clarified that while he did get a feel for the event by surrounding himself with sharks in a protected enclosure, he and his eventual opponent will not be swimming at the same time, which is good if dismemberment isn't really his thing.

"It's tough to go into their territory and swim as fast as they do, right?" he told Good Morning America this morning. "It's incredible watching these things in the water, I actually almost stuck my hand out at one point...but I was like 'No, I'm not putting my hand out there.'"

Good move, Phelpsy!

"It's majestic watching how they are under the water," he added.

Phelps said in a separate segment he used a "monofin" to help him glide through the water at a more competitive pace, but even then, he found himself at a significant disadvantage.

“For 20 years of me spending time in the sport of swimming and training, this is going to make me the fastest? Just putting on this fin is going to make the fastest?” he said. “Should have just done this all along. What the hell was I thinking?”

Phelps Vs Shark: Great Gold Vs Great White will air as part of Shark Week on July 23 at 8 PM EST on Discovery.

20 Inspirational Celebrity Quotes:

More From SoJO 104.9 FM