Extreme sportsmen Ross Edgley comes face to face with great hammerheads in the protected waters of Bimini, the Bahamas. (National Geographic/Nathalie Miles)
National Geographic kicked off its four-week Sharkfest event in a big way with the documentary special Shark vs. Ross Edgley.
Ross Edgley, a super athlete and ultra-marathon sea swimmer, underwent a life-altering experience during his 1,780-mile assisted stage sea swim around the coast of Scotland. His encounter with a basking shark, which he swam alongside for almost two days, was a pivotal moment that reshaped his perspective.
This encounter inspired the idea of combining the science of sports and sharks. For the documentary experience, Edgley put his body to the test in four sharks vs. human challenges: to jump higher than a great white, eat more than a tiger shark, turn faster than a hammerhead, and swim faster than a mako.
In a recent video interview with Fresh Fiction, Edgley spoke about these unique challenges and the profound emotional connection he formed with these too-often misunderstood creatures of the deep.
Shark vs. Ross Edgley is now available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu!
