Michael Phelps Wanted to Race a Shark with No Cage Until He Told His Wife
Phelps told Fallon that he'd conceptualized his 2017 Shark Week stunt as something much more dangerous, but his wife Nicole made some valid counterpoints.
Olympic champion Michael Phelps is at home in the water — even shark-infested ones.
In July 2017, the superstar swimmer stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, not to talk about being the most decorated Olympian of all-time, or his good golf game, but his dream of swimming with a great white shark.
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"I've had an infatuation with sharks my whole life, and I basically turn into a nerd when I talk about sharks," Phelps explained to Jimmy Fallon. "I know a ton about them. And for me, I've always wanted to dive with a white [shark], and I've always wanted to be in the cage."
"You've always wanted to *dive* with a white," Fallon clarified, in case anyone missed the crucial "v" in that sentence about swimming with sharks.
"I told my wife I wanted to do it without a cage, and she said, 'Well, we have a family... I don't know if that's really gonna fly'" Phelps continued, referring to his wife, Nicole Johnson, whom he married in 2016.
Phelps has been nose-to-nose with a great white shark, though protected by a cage. It was experience he described as "awesome" — but don't expect to see Fallon swimming with sharks anytime soon.
"Someone asked me to do that once, to get in a cage," said Fallon. "Absolutely not. I love to live vicariously through you."
"I would start crying. I would start crying underwater tears, and it would be more saltwater than you've ever seen in your life," The Tonight Show Host continued. "I would be so frightened by that."
In the 2017 Shark Week special Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White, Phelps got to live out his dream of going up against a great white — well, kind of. As he told Entertainment Weekly at the time, "Being able to become almost face-to-face with some of the largest predators and animals that we could find is something that was exciting and just an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up."
"It’s been a bucket list item for me for years," he added.
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Michael Phelps and wife Nicole share four kids
Michael Phelps is married to Nicole Johnson. The couple wed in 2016, and they have four sons together: Boomer, 7, Beckett, 5, Maverick, 3, and Nico, who was born on January 16, 2024.
Will Michael Phelps be at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Yes. Phelps, who competed in five Olympic Games from 2000-16, will not be hitting the pool, but will be joining NBC Universal's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. He will be offering commentary and analysis of the games, as he previously did for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“We are excited to have Michael return to our coverage across both daytime and primetime, and of course, the place where no one knows more about winning – at the pool,” Molly Solomon, Executive Producer & President, NBC Olympics Production, said in a press release. “With his ability to analyze and entertain, our viewers are in for another gold-medal performance.”
