Viral Video: American Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps race against a big SHARK!

OLYMPIAN Michael Phelps has proved once and for all that mankind can’t out-swim sharks, after coming second in a race against a virtual Great White.

But the affair was a close call, as Phelps, who is the most decorated Olympian ever, finished just two-seconds behind a simulated version of the deadly beast.

The swimmer took part in the competition, dubbed “Phelps v Shark: Great Gold v Great White”, as part of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

TV chiefs used performance data to find out how quickly the predator could cover 100 metres.

And they then superimposed an image of the shark on footage of Phelps swimming in the ocean.

Most thought the Olympian, who can swim at around 6mph, didn’t stand a chance against the simulated shark’s top speed of 25 mph.

However, he had his team level out the playing field between the two, designing him a shark skin-like wetsuit and a Lunocet swimfin mimicking a shark’s tail.

He told USA Today that with the fin, he estimates he reached speeds of “8 to 10, maybe 12.