Neil Agius may have ended his epic 100-Mile Swim prematurely, but hours before the gruelling swim even started, the Maltese Olympian was told he had officially become a world record holder.

“The night before was the end of a two-year wait for the record to be confirmed and ratified,” Neil said in a public Q&A session in Sliema yesterday evening. “This was literally 12 hours before. I was checking my emails. Don’t ask me why – because I was so relaxed!”

In multiple moments during yesterday’s session, Neil reiterated how relaxed and prepared the team was ahead of the insane world record attempt swim from Mallorca to Ibiza.

 

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And while this must’ve only made it all the more heartbreaking when he had to call off the whole thing after being continuously stung by jellyfish for more than three painful hours overnight, it really is a testament to how mentally strong the Maltese ultra-athlete remains to this day.

“That kind of brought up a lot of emotions as well,” Neil said of the moment he was officially confirmed as a world record holder just before his latest swim.

“It had been a lot of back and forth with the association to understand why it’s taking so long and getting a little bit nervous about it. Then it was a bit like, OK we’ve been at this for two years, waiting for the ratification, and in two days’ time we’re going to be waiting again for another two years. But that was me just thinking too far ahead too soon.”

Despite these challenging last couple of weeks, however, Neil is not deterred, with last night’s appearance ending on a determined note.

In fact, he already confirmed it’s “only a matter of time” before he tries another incredible swim again, even confirming he’s already had “a cheeky look” at potential routes using Google Maps.