Ultra-endurance athlete and clean seas activist Neil Agius set a new world record, as he ended his ‘Small Island, Big Swim’ in Ghar Lapsi on Monday night, having covered a staggering 140 kilometres or so around the Maltese islands.

Agius swam for an astonishing 60 hours and 30 minutes and entered Ghar Lapsi on the outskirts of Siggiewi at around 9:35pm on Monday after spending the day battling increasingly bad weather and sea conditions.

A crowd which gathered to greet Agius sat in silence as the 38-year-old Olympian clambered up the ladder and out of the water, before getting to his feet and sitting down on a chair – thereby ending his world record attempt successfully.

The swim will now have to be ratified by the World Open Water Swimming Association, the governing body that oversees this ultra-endurance sport.

With his swim, Agius has beaten the existing world record – which is his own – by an incredible 16 kilometres.

Even as an athletic achievement alone, Agius’ feat is nothing short of extraordinary. That Malta hosts an athlete of such prowess and, no less, who is a world record holder is a source of pride for everyone.  That showed as much when seeing the sheer support that Agius has had in all of his endeavours, including the one which concluded this week.

But even more inspiring is the fact that Agius is using his profile and his athletic prowess in order to support and emphasise upon a cause which is close to his heart and which is extremely important for the general public as a whole.

Agius used the swim to raise awareness about the state of Malta’s marine habitat in collaboration with NGO Wave of Change and marine clean-up specialists Żibel.  Żibel coordinated three coastal clean ups during the swim, with a third and final on planned for Monday postponed due to bad weather.   

So far the collaboration has seen some 790kg of marine waste collected by volunteers who gathered in Spinola Bay, St Julian’s on Saturday, and St Thomas Bay, Marsascala, on Sunday.  The public was also invited to collect waste on their own and deposit it in specialised Żibel bins located across the country.   All waste collected will be sorted and the aim is to use them to power fully-circular projects.  

One cannot over-estimate the importance of protecting Malta’s environment, and that includes its coastal and marine environment.  Litter in our seas is a worldwide problem which needs decisive action to solve – but it is also one which is entirely preventable with the correct awareness and with people recognising not to litter.

Agius’ feat should serve as an inspiration to everyone to go out and do what they are aspiring to do.  It can be something as simple for working on one’s physical fitness for the first time, or other, grander adventures and achievements.

Agius is someone who truly will go down in Malta’s history books – but hopefully he will also remain in the minds of the Maltese people, with his feats inspiring others to set forth and achieve their own.