Characteristics to help white sharks defeat the fisherman Michael Phelps

White sharks win convincingly in the race of swimming 100m with Olympic champion Michael Phelps thanks to the ability to retain heat in cold water environments.

Michael Phelps , an American swimmer who set 39 world records and holds 23 Olympic gold medals, failed to compete with white sharks on "Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White". played on Discovery channel yesterday, according to Bleacher Report. Experts judged that Phelps lost because of heat loss when swimming in cold water and differences in swimming speed compared to sharks.

Phelps could not win against the white shark, despite being equipped with modern swimwear.(Artwork: Distractify.com).

Phelps swam 100m in 38.1 seconds, while the white shark completed the race in 36.1 seconds, two seconds faster than Phelps. At the start of the race, Phelps reached a speed of 14.1 km / h, faster than the shark, but then the white shark surpassed 25 meters and Phelps could not overcome this gap.

"Before diving, I knew the water would be very cold, and I knew that for a swimmer like me, swimming in the cold like this would make my whole body shocked. I just wore a swimsuit. thin so it feels really cold, "Phelps said. "For me, the biggest challenge is trying to keep heat , which is extremely difficult, because the water temperature is only 13 degrees Celsius. It's the environment where a shark can survive, while you who really can't live under such water ".

Andrew Nosal, marine biologist and shark researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, USA, anticipated the race results. Unlike most other shark species, white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are warm-blooded animals, so they can live and swim quickly in cold water, according to Nosal. "The temperature in the center of the body is warmer than the surrounding water, allowing swimming muscles to shrink more strongly for a longer time , " Nosal said.

White sharks maintain the ability to capture heat by specially arranged blood vessels called "convection heat exchangers" , preventing the heat generated by the contraction of muscle radiating into the surrounding water.

Michael Phelps hits the white shark's forehead while diving in the cage.(Video: Mirror).

White sharks use extremely fast speeds to catch sea creatures and other agile marine animals, says Christopher Lowe, marine biology professor at the University of California, Long Beach. White sharks can swim at speeds up to 40km / h.

In contrast, Phelps's speed is only considered fast when compared to ordinary people."In a race, I think my fastest speed is about 8-10km / h. Equipped with a monofin fish tail, I can reach speeds of 13-19km / h," Phelps said.

Monofin fishtail is a shark-like device that can help Phelps improve swimming speed. He also wears a Phantom swimsuit to increase his buoyancy and reduce drag, according to producer Aqua Sphere. Phelps does not swim directly with the real white shark in a 100-meter South African race that races with the CGI shark (technology that simulates computer images).