Watch: ‘Let’s Rock And Roll!’ – Neil Agius To Kick Off Record-Attempt Swim Tomorrow At 8am
… and just like that, Neil Agius is off in less than 24 hours!
“I know we said we’re not gonna go tomorrow, but we changed our mind,” the former Olympian and superhero swimmer said in a short video update posted moments ago, days after the weather window for his swim officially opened. “We thought 24-hour notice, but it’s an 18-hour notice. I know we can do this. We’re leaving tomorrow guys, 8am.”
Beyond its last-minute nature, Agius’ announcement comes as even more as a surprise since right now, Malta and Gozo continue to be battered by heavy rain and strong winds. Just this afternoon, as numerous localities continued to flood, a number of massive waterspouts were spotted just off the northern coast, close to where Agius has been training for the last couple of weeks. However, tomorrow is set to be the first day of improving weather, with the Met Office currently forecasting a partly cloudy weekend at worst.
Agius will be attempting a behemoth 160-kilometre swim around the Maltese Islands, requiring some 65 hours of non-stop swimming to achieve. Over the course of three days, Agius is expected to not stop, not sleep and not touch the boat which will be accompanying him. By the end, he would have not only covered the entire perimeter of the Maltese archipelago, but also cover over 50 extra kilometres.
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“I really feel this in my heart and soul that this is going to be the right time window,” Agius finished off today’s video. “Let’s rock and roll!”
Meanwhile, Agius is also using the swim to raise awareness about the state of Malta’s marine habitat aiming to raise awareness about critical environmental issues and inspire a collective commitment to protecting the Mediterranean Sea. In collaboration with NGO Wave of Change and marine clean-up specialists Żibel, three clean-up events will be held, their locations and timings to be announced once the swim route and conditions are confirmed. Żibel will be coordinating the clean-ups, and spaces are limited to 50 people per clean-up.
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