In 2007 he set up a swimming academy, to share his love and respect for the water with others, and inspire them to understand their capabilities and achieve their dreams. And after more than 10 years he made his next step - this time into the open water.
In 2018 Neil decided to take on his first ultra distance unassisted open water swim, circling the island of Malta in a 70km, 22hr endurance feat.
And with that Neil Agius, the ultra distance athlete came to be. Now with bigger distances, longer swims, and world records under his belt, and the list of extreme challenges only just beginning.
In 2019 Neil completed a new endeavour around Gozo, with a distance of 37km in 10hrs. 2020 saw him swim 101km in 28hrs from Sicily to Malta. And in 2021 Neil took on his biggest challenge to date, and his first world record breaking swim, reaching 125km in 52 hours, swimming from Linosa, Italy to Malta.
Cheered on by his new fiancee, and a team of 24 support crew, Neil reached the shores of Malta after a gruelling 2 days of non stop, unaided swimming, completed without a wetsuit, without sleep and only essential sustenance to keep going.
Each of these incredible undertakings have been accomplished in trepidatious conditions. Neil has faced days and nights of freezing, rough waters, countless jellyfish stings, and the fear of sharks and ocean predators. But he keeps going, every time the challenges get bigger, bolder, more dangerous, more physically, mentally and emotionally demanding, and every time he wants to do better than the last. Every time he seeks to push himself forward like nobody else can.
For Neil this is not an exploit in physical coaching. Preparing the body is one small part of his tremendous training. At the heart of these ventures is a deep spirituality, and a commitment to self growth that gives him the control and capacity to understand himself and go far beyond the norm.
“After this, we both took up golf on during the week and started eating fancy dinners at the local Country Club... Ha. This is not what happened at all. We suck at golf and love eating Guzman Y Gomez.”
Neil Agius
Michael Phelps