Neil Agius
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Agius |
| National team | Malta |
| Born | 6 June 1986 |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Coach | Dave Haller[1] |
Neil Agius (born 6 June 1986) is a Maltese swimmer, former Olympian and world-record holder who specializes in long-distance freestyle events.[2]
Career
Agius qualified for the men's 400 m freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by receiving a Universality place from FINA.[1] He broke a Maltese record and posted his entry time of 4:21.24 from the Easter International Swim Meet in Msida.[3][4] As part of his preparations for the Games, Agius attended a 6-week training camp under the guidance of Dave Heller, who coached for the Cardiff Swimming Club.[1] On the first day of the Games, Agius placed forty-sixth from the morning's prelims. Swimming in heat one, he rounded out a field of seven swimmers to last place with a slowest time of 4:22.14, less than a tenth of a second off his record.[5][6]
Neil held three Maltese records each in the 400, 800, and 1500 m freestyle until one of them was broken by Edward Caruana Dingli in 2011.[1]
In August 2021, he was honoured with the creation of a 266 kg bronze statue in his likeness, by artist Austin Camilleri.[7]
Marathon swimming
Outside of his Olympic career, Agius promotes awareness for environmental issues via marathon swims. In 2018 he swam 70 km around Malta in 22 hours raising awareness for marine plastic.[8] The following year he swam around Gozo in ten hours, supporting the same cause.[9]
In 2020, Agius became the second person to ever swim from Sicily to Malta. He accomplished the feat in a record-breaking time of 28:27:27.[10]
On 30 June 2021, Agius might have established the new world record for the longest continuous unassisted open water swim - swimming 125.7 km from Linosa to Xlendi - to the Mediterranean archipelago of Gozo, Malta. This is still under review by the Marathon Swimmers Federation.[11] In September 2024, Agius broke his own record with a 140km non-stop swim, a new world record.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d "Seven athletes for Athens Olympic Games". Malta Media. 21 July 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Neil Agius". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 1)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Neil Agius breaks 400m national record". The Times (Malta). 17 April 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (14 August 2004). "Men's 400 Freestyle Prelims: Hackett Edges Thorpe, Qualifies First for Final; Jensen and Keller Easily Through". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 1". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ "Maltese Ultra Endurance Athlete Neil Agius Has Epic Statue Made in His Likeness". 25 February 2022.
- ^ Carabott, Sarah (21 July 2018). "Watch: Swimmer completes 70km swim around Malta". Times of Malta. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Malta, Times of (29 June 2019). "Athlete-activist swims around Gozo in 10 hours". Times of Malta. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Malta, Times of (26 June 2020). "Neil Agius completes epic Sicily-Malta swim in record-breaking time". Times of Malta. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ "Pending review, a new world record for Longest Unassisted Ocean Swim has likely been established". 30 June 2021.
- ^ "Watch: Tired and sore Neil Agius 'super happy' with record-breaking swim". Times of Malta. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2024-09-25.