| Neil Agius | |
| Fullname: | Neil Agius |
| Strokes: | Freestyle |
| Coach: | Dave Haller |
| Birth Date: | 6 June 1986 |
| Height: | 1.680NaN0 |
| Weight: | 650NaN0 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Neil Agius (born June 6, 1986) is a Maltese swimmer, former Olympian and world-record holder who specializes in long-distance freestyle events.[1]
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.[2]
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.[2] 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.[2] 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]