June 09, 2019
Continued extremely tight until the last island! The 2019 ÖTILLÖ Isles of Scilly World Series swimrun race was nerve-wracking until the long swim from St Martins. This fourth edition of this race had the top teams in the mens category dog-fighting all the way until the long swim to St Mary’s. It must have been very tough on them out there. In the mixed and in the womens category the going was not as tight but of course still very tough.
For the Sunday World Series race 116 teams of two from 20 nations braved the 37,2 kilometres long course – 29km of trail running and 8,3 km of swimming – was a true test, alternating technical trail running with long, challenging stretches of open-water swimming. A total of 10 runs and 8 swims.
THE WINNERS, current World Champions Fredrik Axegård & Alexander Flores, Team Ark Swimrun (SWE), managed to pull away from the leading pack and cross the finish line as the first team after 4h3151s, four minutes ahead of Guillaume Henneman & Franck Martin (FRA) Team Head – Gravelines Tri (FRA). In the mixed category a new team showed their strengths, Team MAT, Eugenie Plane & Matthieu Poullain (FRA) 4:51:48 and in 4th place overall! The first women’s team Anna Hellström & Susie Moonan (SWE) Team Envol completed an impressive race and finished after 5:17:41.
Next stop in the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series: ÖTILLÖ Engadin in the Swiss Alps on July 6 – 7.
High resolution photos free of right for press only.
Please credit the photographer: Pierre Mangez/ÖTILLÖ Isles of Scilly (indicated in the photo)
“This race and this place is amazing! It is our favourite in the whole Series. We had a plan, we stuck to it and it worked!”, said Fredrik Axegård and Alexander Flores – Team ARK Swimrun(SWE) after finishing as overall winner.
The Isles of Scilly, of the coast of Cornwall in South-west England, is considered as a rare gem. It is an archipelago of islands in the Atlantic with almost every plant in the world, it has the most amount of historical sites per square metre in the UK and it has pristine nature. The Isles of Scilly is a dream destination for an ÖTILLÖ swimrun race. There is no doubt that the Isles of Scilly lives up to ÖTILLÖ’s claim of having unique races in unique places!
The 37,2 km race course of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly World Series race is as tough as it gets. The sea was quite calm, however the sea temperature at 14 degrees zaps the energy from the racers during the consecutive long swims with the longest swim being 2 450 metres. Add to that the tidal flow during the race and it becomes a challenge for everyone. The tide changes almost 3, 5 metres during the race. The near perfect weather made it easier than expected but still a very big challenge. The majority of the runs are on technical trails along the beautiful coast lines of the islands.
Several teams had to struggle to make it in time for the three cut offs. Some had to abandon along the way. The top teams pushed each other hard, chasing each other in a tight group all the way to the finish line. The level of competition has real exploded!
UK Triathlon superstar Lucy Gossage raced in her first ÖTILLÖ race, in the mixed category, together with Laurence Hulatt. They finished in 9th place in Mixed. She said it was tougher than she expeced an was very impressed by the organization and the volunteers on the course
At all ÖTILLÖ swimrun World Series events teams race in pairs. Working wisely with your partner is decisive. Using each other’s strengths will push boundaries. The team experience is incomparable and can only be fully understood by those who have practiced it, and is part of why swimrun is growing so fast in popularity.
116 teams of two from 20 different nations travelled to the Isles of Scilly to compete in the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago.
The day prior to the race two shorter more accessible race were organised, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint Isles of Scilly and the ÖTILLÖ Experience Isles of Scilly, offering the same flavours as the longer more challenging race but in a smaller format.These races had close to 190 racers registered from a total of 17 nations.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly qualify to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2019, on 2nd of September 2019 in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, 9 June 2019
Men
- Fredrik Axegård & Alexander Flores (SWE) Team Ark Swimrun – winner photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xf4b48szog3lo1x/OTILLO%20Isles%20of%20Scilly%20-%202019%20-%20143213-090619-PierreMangez-3-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Guillaume Heneman & Fanck Martin (FRA) Team HEAD Gravelines Tri
- Andy Blow & James Philips (UK) Team Precision Hydration
Mixed
- Eugenie Plane & Matthieu Poullain (FRA) Team MAT winner photo:https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzlrn2t5nve2lxa/OTILLO%20Isles%20of%20Scilly%20-%202019%20-%20145210-090619-PierreMangez-2-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Bronwen Price- Dierksen & Gregory Dierksen (USA) Bosten Wet Sox
- Aintzane Argaiz Castro & Ciro Tobar Ortiz de Urbana (ESP) Team Vibike – Head – 226ers
Women
- Anna Hellström & Susie Moonan (SWE) Team Envol – Winner Photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/slf0zyu9txv9n65/OTILLO%20Isles%20of%20Scilly%20-%202019%20-%20151803-090619-PierreMangez-2-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Anneli Wall & Jenny Ramstedt (SWE) Head Swimming
- Lauren Vickery & Robyn Cassidy (UK) Butch Cassidy & the Stumpy Pig
Photos and video free to use for media
(please credit Pierre Mangez/ ÖTILLÖ)
A video highlight for web use will be uploaded on Monday, June 17th on the same link as above.
New formats
On Saturday, June 8th we hosted several shorter races to make the sport accessible to more people and to let newcomers experience the beauty of swimrun. All under the best organisation in the business.
The EXPERIENCE distance is 7,8 km with 3 swim sections totalling 950 metres. This race distance you can either do in teams of two or solo.
The SPRINT eludes to the distance and not to the speed. It is a total of 15,8 km with 8 swim sections totalling 3085 metres. This race distance you can either do in teams of two or solo.
We had close to 190 persons signed up for these beautiful tastes of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2019
There are six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ. At each World Series event a Sprint and Experience race is organised the same weekend.
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, April 7, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, May 19, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, June 9, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, July 7, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, September 22, 2019 (Qualifier for ÖTILLÖ 2020)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Cannes, France, October 20, 2019 (Qualifier for ÖTILLÖ 2020)
ÖTILLÖ THE SWIMRUN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
- 14th edition on September 2nd, 2019
- 75 km over and between 26 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago
- Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world
About swimrun and ÖTILLÖ
Swimrun is one of the fastest growing endurance sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming along a marked course. You run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes! It is a unique sport and experience as you often race with a partner and the race courses are in wild nature. The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship (ÖTILLÖ meaning island to island in Swedish) is the original swimrun race, renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world (CNN 2012).
Media contact
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series
Michael Lemmel
michael@otilloswimrun.com
+41 79 818 98 28
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship
Josefine Ås
pr@otilloswimrun.com
+33 6 79 04 23 46
Fast facts ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly 2019
- Isles of Scilly, UK
- Total race distance: 37 275 m
- Trail running: 28 925 m
- Swimming: 8 350 m
- Swim sections: 8
- Longest swim: 2 500 m
- Longest run: 7 700 m
- 116 teams from 20 nations
