Olympic Swimmer Completes 3-Day Long, Nearly 87-Mile Swim: ‘It Was a Swim for Malta’

Mar. 15, 2025

Neil Agius prepares before swimming in Mellieha, Malta, on Sept. 21, 2024.Photo:Xinhua/Shutterstock

Xinhua/Shutterstock

Olympic swimmer Neil Agius completed an impressive three-day long, non-stop swim at 38 years old.

The former Olympian swam nearly 87 miles, around Malta, Gozo and Comino during the non-stop journey — his most impressive yet.

Per theTimes,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 theTimesafter 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.

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, theTimesreported, and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola congratulated the swimmer in a post onFacebook.

“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.”

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On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Agius shared an update on his recovery with his followers onInstagram. “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.”

source: people.com