Neil Agius says aim of 100-mile swim is to highlight pollution at sea
Ultra-endurance athlete and clean seas activist Neil Agius said on Friday that his worldrecord 100-mile swim in open sea crossing from Mallorca to Ibiza is about the prevalent problem of pollution and pollutants in seas and oceans, and about encouraging people to make small changes in their daily lives.
Launching the campaign at Samizu in Pieta, Agius, working with his own eNGO Wave of Change Malta, explained that the awareness-raising swim is aimed at promoting sustainability in the way that we eat, dress, and live, while raising awareness and encouraging people to embrace change.
Agius will be attempting a world-first record attempt in the longest, non-stop, unassisted, current neutral open water sea swim, some time after the end of June this summer.
He will be swimming from Mallorca around the west coast of Ibiza, touching land on the eastern coast of Ibiza, covering approximately 160km and swimming for 70 hours.
The campaign urges society to dress for change, encouraging sustainable fashion choices such as clothing swaps and prioritising sustainable textiles.
It also encourages people to eat for change, urging sustainable dietary choices and prioritising eating local and seasonal, as well as limiting red meat.
The campaign calls on people to live for Change, encouraging sustainable domestic lifestyle choices, including energy efficiency and smarter household water management.
The campaign initiatives and activities will be announced in the coming weeks, as Agius prepares for his 175,000-stroke swim.
Agius currently holds another world record in swimming; however, the 100 Mile Swim represents the former Olympian’s most ambitious challenge yet, testing his endurance, strength and mental resilience.
He said that he has adopted a new game changer breathing technique, which focuses on inhaling more oxygen than exhaling it, maintain the technique for some time, and then maintaining steady breathing in and out as he swims. Agius said that this technique has elevated his performance, and he will eventually offer training to anyone interested.
Agius has been training intensively for months to prepare for the challenge, and will be spending the coming weeks meeting with community and business leaders to continue to raise awareness.
Agius will also announce further initiatives in the run-up to the swim attempt.
The athlete will be supported by a team of around 25 volunteers and professionals made up of medics, swim observers, navigators, skippers and crew, motivators, media and a nutritionist, who will all ensure that he remains safe and healthy throughout the swim.
The swim will also raise awareness for ocean conservation and the urgent need to conserve our precious marine ecosystem, which are causes close to his heart, he said.
“I will be doing the big swim, while you’re doing the small change”, Agius said in his message, adding that with using the media attention surrounding his swim, Agius will be able to catch five minutes of people’s time to encourage making small steps for change, and wanting to have a future where our children can enjoy the sea.
The 100 Mile swim is supported by the Mallorca Preservation Foundation, as well as Neil’s own NGO, Wave of Change Malta, Ocibar Marinas and the Palma International Boat Show, as well as being proudly sponsored by Atlas Insurance and Visit Malta.
Atlas Insurance Managing Director and CEO, Matthew von Brockdorff, said that the company is proud to be standing behind Agius.
“Earlier this year, we launched a collaboration with Neil, which will see us working together on a number of different projects – this swim being one of them. We’ve chosen to work with Neil as his values truly resonate with our own, and for his ability to inspire people to recognise their best abilities and use them to make our world a better place”, von Brockdorff said.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, and asked of his feelings on the swim, Agius said that he is not scared, as he has been preparing intensively, and fortunately has a team behind him to support him.
The purpose of the swim is not for profit, but to encourage the challenge to be done and spread awareness online. Wave of Change’s initiative of picking up three pieces of plastic, posting it on social media and challenging others to do it remains, while people can also do the challenge in the other three initiatives.
Agius’ team is one boat short, and have asked the public to contact them should they have an extra boat that they would be willing to lend, as well as for anyone interested to sponsor the cause.