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Neil Agius Reveals What His Sunburnt Back Looked Like After Swimming For 52 Hours 

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Ultra-swimmer Neil Agius has revealed just how badly sunburnt his back was after his record-breaking swim from Linosa to Gozo last summer.

Agius posted photos of skin peeling from his back and face after his swim, which broke the world record for the longest non-stop, unassisted swim.

From the pictures, you can see that I got badly sunburnt, pretty much peeling from ever part body, back, legs, face, arms and chest,” he said.

“This is mostly because it got increasingly hard to apply sunblock with my shoulders being so  sore and while threading water at the same time.”

“The most painful part was due to the salt exposure… my mouth, nose and throat. My tongue was pitted with holes and the inside of my mouth full of ulcers. For days I was blowing my nose and finding pieces of skin on the tissue.”

Despite the pain, Agius said it was all worth it if his mammoth swim inspired people to reduce their carbon footprint, work hard and follow their dreams.

Agius swam 125.6km from Linosa to Gozo in just over 52 hours last summer, breaking the previous world record for the longest non-stop unassisted swim.

His swim aimed to raise awareness about plastic pollution at sea as part of the Wave of Change campaign he helped establish.

He was honoured with a Medal for Service to the Republic (Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika) during last December’s Republic Day celebrations, and even placed second in an International Man Of The Year Award.

A Lovin Malta video of his arrival at Xlendi to a cheering crowd has been viewed over 10 million times and you can re-live the moment below.

What do you think Neil Agius’ next challenge should be? 

READ NEXT: TEDxUniversityofMalta: From Redesigning Our Approach To Climate Change To Immortalising Yesteryear's Fashion

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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