Neil Agius
Personal information
Full nameNeil Agius
National team Malta
Born (1986-06-06) 6 June 1986
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
CoachDave Haller[1]

Neil Agius (born June 6, 1986) is a Maltese swimmer, former Olympian and world-record holder who specializes in long-distance freestyle events.[2]

Career

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]

On June 30, 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.[3]

In August 2021, he was honoured with the creation of a 266 kg bronze statue in his likeness, by artist Austin Camilleri, ensuring his legacy lives on.[4]

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.[5][6] 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 (0.10) off his record.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Seven athletes for Athens Olympic Games". Malta Media. 21 July 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Pending review, a new world record for Longest Unassisted Ocean Swim has likely been established". 30 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Maltese Ultra Endurance Athlete Neil Agius Has Epic Statue Made in His Likeness". 25 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 1)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Neil Agius breaks 400m national record". The Times (Malta). 17 April 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ "Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 1". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.


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