Lara Vella is swimming champion and anti-pollution activist’s partner – Neil Agius. Neil recently swam from Sicily to Malta in a record-breaking 28 hours, 7 minutes and 28 seconds. Daniela Allen speaks to Lara about how she lived Neil’s epic swim in June and her constant support towards him.
“I promised Neil that I would be there all along, until the very end of the swim. And I was,” says Lara as she describes the various moments and emotions that surfaced throughout the swim.
“Amongst others, there was also a moment of panic when in the middle of the night in pitch darkness between 3 and 5am fatigue started to set in…”
At that point Neil had entered what Lara describes as a state of “mental confusion,” something that both herself and the medical team on Neil’s accompanying boat were expecting.
“It was the early hours of June 26th, I could not see Neil and he could not see me. There was absolutely no light or visibility except for the neon strap attached to Neil’s goggles that merely illuminated the back of his head,” Lara explains. “It was then that the tide started to pick up and the sea temperature dropped – Neil was struggling.”
At the time everyone else on board the accompanying boat had been trying to catch his attention, to point him towards the right direction – it was all for nothing. The anguish of watching Neil even at one point swimming in the opposite direction was unbearable. Everyone felt helpless.
Until Lara suddenly took over. She explained that the only thing she could do to help Neil at that point was call out his name (loudly) hoping that he would pick up the sound of her voice as he swam along in the stillness of that night.
“Despite the fact that we were expecting this to happen. I realized Neil’s mental health state was deteriorating fast. After shouting out his name for a while he suddenly caught my eye, looked at me and picked up his pace again towards the right direction.” From then on Neil continued with a steady pace – the worst was then definitely over.
Once we spoke about the most difficult moments of that swim which are evidently still fresh in Lara’s mind we discussed the build-up towards it.
It all started around three years ago when Neil decided to take the plunge and plan his 2020 challenge. Little did he know that, that same year the world would be taken over by COVID-19 and it would essentially limit his training options.
But COVID-19 did not stop him. Lara describes the days when Neil Agius would wake up at 1am and go for a night swim to Ghadira Bay alone several times a week.
While for as long as she’d known him, Neil was always up early because of his work as a swim coach this was something she had not really been used to.
There was also a nutritional aspect to Neil’s challenge and maintaining a healthy diet was crucial to it. Neil prepared his own meals – and Lara’s too, “He is the chef at home”.
Lara on the other hand supported his psychological wellbeing, preparing him mentally for what he was about to endure. She emphasizes that 70% of the actual swimming challenge is a mental one.
“We practiced meditation together.. and mantras that as a couple we agreed to use during Neil’s swim. A word, a phrase, that I would call out to him during the swim that meant a lot to just the two of us. A moment that would take him to a ‘place’ we already knew.”
There were times, she says when she would play or sing a song they both knew well so that Neil could hear it as he braced the waves coming towards him.
She speaks about their love for Latin America and a pre-COVID19 trip they took to Brazil. “We learnt so much… we understood what it really meant to respect and have faith in the ocean believing that Neil would be safe on his journey.”
Faith kept her and Neil gong. “I had faith in the sea and the creatures of the sea – believing they will protect and shield Neil. We also offered gifts to the sea, as a sign of gratitude as we sailed through.”
Then suddenly after all those hours at sea, the big moment was getting closer. There was no stopping Neil Agius.
His amazing accompanying team of 20 people who were always there to assist him were about to watch their hero complete the amazing journey.
By then Lara was on land waiting for him together with Neil’s parents. “The final task was to ensure that when Neil touched the ladder, he would actually come up and stand up,” This she explains, was one of the National Record regulations.
Photo by Jeremy Debattista
Neil Agius is the second person in recorded history to swim between Sicily and Malta. He reached Balluta Bay in St Julian’s at 9.21am on Friday 26th June after setting off from Punta Braccetto in Ragusa, Sicily during the early hours on 25th June.
Lara reminded me that Neil repeatedly said the trip he took was not for his own glory but to raise awareness about marine pollution and inspire people to take better care of maritime habitats.
He leads The Wave of Change Movement which encourages every person to collect three items of rubbish every time they visit the seaside, to help reduce maritime pollution. His swim from Sicily to Malta is the most challenging one he’s ever done and Lara was right there behind him.
More information – Facebook page: Wave of Change Malta
About the Author
Daniela Allen is a freelance journalist and PR consultant
