Phelps' rapid improvement culminated when he qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15, as he became the youngest male (since Ralph Flanagan in 1932) to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years. Well, his speed in miles per hours sounds lower than it really is. Since Michael Phelps didn’t usually compete in the 50 meter freestyle (which is the fastest race), we have to look at his fastest 100 meter freestyle. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly. The short answer is Phelps is fast, but a shark swims much faster. But hey, that didn’t stop Phelps from racing a shark. Phelps tops out at a reported 6 mph in … … Phelps spoke about the disadvantage on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. According to ESPN, Michael Phelps' swimming speed capped off at about 6 miles per hour in 2010.

If … Michael Phelps is the fastest human swimmer on the planet, but sharks swim much faster than people.. Here’s how we arrived at this number. Truth be told, American alligators are actually much faster swimmers than Michael Phelps, topping out at 20 mph. Michael Phelps swam his fastest 100 meter freestyle at an average pace of 4.76 mph.