Every kid at one point in time has had an irrational fear of sharks or some other devious creatures lurking in the deep end of the pool after dark. Humans are most vulnerable in water, as they generally don’t have much clothing on to protect them while swimming, not to mention a wide range of variables in how fast they can swim or how long they can hold their breath underwater. The fastest recorded human swimming speed was held by Tom Jager in 1990 during a 50-meter freestyle at a rate of 2.29 meters per second. This was recently blasted out of the water by Olympic medalist Michael Phelps, with a clocked speed of 6 miles per hour, or 2.68 meters per second, with an average racing speed of around 4.5 miles per hour. Keep in mind that the average swimmer can usually only swim at a rate of maybe 2 miles per hour.