Neil Agius, a 2004 Olympic swimmer, completed a three-day, non-stop swim around Malta, Gozo and Comino back in September.
The swim marked a huge feat, as the 38-year-old Maltese swimmer covered 88.4 miles (142.3 kilometers) over the three-day period and broke his own world record for the longest, unassisted, current-neutral ocean swim. The previous record was 78 miles, which he set in 2021.
After the swim, Agius told the Times that he took on the feat to honor his country.
“It was not a swim for me, it was a swim for Malta,” he said.
Agius set off on his journey the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, at Ghadira Bay in Malta. A little over 60 hours later, he emerged from the water around 9:40 pm local time on Monday, Sept. 23. Medical professionals were reportedly on site to examine Agius after he successfully completed the swim.
A number of supporters greeted Agius as he exited the water, including several politicians. Among those present were Malta Prime Minister Robert Abela and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, both of whom congratulated Agius on his accomplishment in a post on Facebook.
“Our Maltese legend, the extraordinary Neil Agius has done it again. This unbelievable athlete has broken another record with his superhuman non-stop swim around the Maltese Islands!” Metsola said. “The personification of ‘Never Give Up’. An inspiration to all of us.”
Two days after the swim, Agius shared an update on his recovery following the taxing event. As a result of the non-stop swimming and three-day exposure to the world, he developed ulcers in his mouth and experienced sleep deprivation and hallucinations.
Agius has since made a full recovery and is back in the water.
What sanctioning agency did Neil use? MSF, wowsa, etc?
What does it mean for a swim like this to be unassisted?
Good discussion of the rules here: https://www.openwaterswimming.com/what-is-assisted-swim-what-is/
I could do that
Quite a few people could do this. But almost no one would want to. It’s unhealthy and I’m sure extremely unpleasant. So I’m not sure whether to be impressed by this record or not. “… he developed ulcers in his mouth and experienced sleep deprivation and hallucinations.” No way man.
What do you mean by “quite a few”, and what is your basis for making this statement? Do you believe there are 100 people who could do this? A thousand? 10 thousand? Am I impressed by this record? Absolutely. Would I ever want to try to break it, or think I ever could? Absolutely not.