VALLETTA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Malta's ultra-endurance athlete and clean seas activist Neil Agius swam some 140 kilometres in just over 60 hours around Malta and Gozo.
The swim, to raise awareness about the importance of keeping our seas clean, set a new world record which still needs to be ratified by the World Open Water Swimming Association. This governing body oversees this ultra-endurance sport.
Agius set off from Ghadira Bay, Mellieha, shortly after 9 a.m. last Saturday and he touched land just before 10 p.m. on Monday night after his team became increasingly concerned about his safety amid worsening weather conditions with outbursts of rain, strong currents, winds, and an increasing sea swell.
He was visibly exhausted but buoyed by the cheers of hundreds of supporters who gathered for the end of the "Small Island, Big Swim" challenge.
He staggered up a ladder out of the water as the crowd waited in silence until he eventually made it to his feet.
A medical team was waiting on land where he was covered in blankets to bring his body temperature back to normal and was medically examined.
He swam clockwise around Malta and Gozo. After 52 hours of continuous swimming, he surpassed the previous world record he had set in 2021 when he swam from Linosa to Malta covering a distance of 125.7km.
Agius was forced to abandon an attempt at a new record last year in Spain after he was surrounded by a massive swarm of jellyfish that stung him. ■
