Olympic swimmer Neil Agius completed an impressive three-day long, non-stop swim at 38 years old.
Agius — who competed in the 400m freestyle event at the 2004 Olympic Gamesin Athens — began his journey around 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Ghadira Bay in Malta and emerged from the water at approximately 9:40 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, according to the Malta Times.
The former Olympian swam nearly 87 miles, around Malta, Gozo and Comino during the non-stop journey — his most impressive yet.
Per the Times, Agius broke his own world record distance of just over 78 miles, which he set in 2021. According to the outlet, medical professionals were on site to examine Agius when he emerged from the water on Monday evening.
Agius spoke to the Times after his swim, telling the newspaper that he completed the fantastic journey in honor of his country. “It was not a swim for me, it was a swim for Malta,” Agius said.
As he surfaced from Ghadira Bay, Agius was greeted by a large group of supporters who cheered after he successfully completed the 60-hour voyage — including political figures from Malta.
Neil Agius swimming in the sea in Mellieha, Malta on Sept. 21, 2024.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
Prime Minister Robert Abela joined other politicians from the country to celebrate Agius’ accomplishment, the Times reported, and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola congratulated the swimmer in a post on Facebook.
“Our Maltese legend, the extraordinary Neil Agius has done it again,” Metsola wrote in the post. “This unbelievable athlete has broken another record with his superhuman non-stop swim around the Maltese Islands!”
Metsola added, “The personification of ‘Never Give Up’. An inspiration to all of us. Neil, we are all so immensely proud of you.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Agius shared an update on his recovery with his followers on Instagram. “You probably think I’ve been sleeping the whole time but unfortunately that’s not the case,” Agius said in the Instagram Reel.
Agius explained, “That’s not how it works. Sleep has been very difficult.” He noted that his mouth and nose “sustained the most damage” during the three-day swim, “with the ulcers in my mouth” and “pieces of skin drying up coming out of my nose.”
The damage to Agius’ nose was due to the “salt erosion” over a “long period” while he was in the water, the swimmer said.
“But what I’m really happy about is that my body, my shoulders, my chest, my back are feeling really strong and really good,” Agius shared.
The swimmer asked his followers to submit questions as he continues his recovery, encouraging them to ask about the “hallucinations” and “sleep deprivation” he’s experiencing, or what was “going through my mind over the 3 day swim.”
