Swimmer Neil Agius dived into the Mediterranean on Thursday morning hoping to become only the second man to swim from Sicily to Malta.

He set off at Pozzallo at 5am and expects to arrive at St Julian’s on Friday afternoon. 

The 34-year-old swimming coach has embarked on the 100km challenge to raise awareness for Wave of Change, an environmental NGO that encourages citizens to pick up litter on beaches and campaigns about the danger of plastic dumped at sea. 

Last year, five people swam 35km around Gozo to support the initiative. 

Agius is accompanied by a 16-member crew which includes an umpire, a navigating boat, a food preparation team, as well as a couple of swimmers who will do part of the route with him for moral support.

Throughout his challenge, Agius is not allowed to touch the boat, nor wear any protective gear, barring a cap and goggles, leaving him susceptible to the elements as well as jellyfish stings. 

“It’s 70 percent your mindset,” Agius told Times of Malta in an interview earlier this month. 

“You have to be careful not to dig yourself into a hole, or you might not get out of it.”
 
“It’s super quiet out there so you just hear the sound of the water swishing as your arms move in and out.”

The feat has only been completed once before, back in 1985 when athlete Nicky Farrugia completed the challenge, arriving in Gozo after 30 hours and 17 minutes at sea. 

You can follow Neil’s progress by tracking his gps positions here.