UTÖ, SWEDEN, MAY 20, 2018
What a race, what a battle – Swimrun Propaganda!
The second race of the 2018 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series on the beautiful island of Utö in Sweden was a fight to the bitter end. Tough, intense but beautiful.
A magic summer setting on the island of Utö in the Stockholm Archipelago set the stage for the 2nd ÖTILLÖ swimrun weekend of the season. A little more than 620 competitors came out to enjoy the fantastic swimrun weekend.
For the Sunday World Series race the 43 kilometres course was a true test, alternating technical trail running with a total of 17 very, intense swims in some times 10 degree C water.
The winners George Bjälkemo & Pontus Lindberg, Team Garmin (SWE), managed to pull away from the leading pack and cross the finish line as the first team after 4:03:23, almost four minutes ahead of Nicolas Remires FRA & Julian Dent AUS. The very strong Martin Flinta (SWE) & Helena Karaskova Erbenova (CZE) Team Thule Crew finished as first mixed team. The first women’s team Fanny Danckwardt & Desirée Andersson (SWE) Team Envol completed an impressive race and finished after 4:41:25
These winners were also the same winners as at ÖTILLÖ Hvar in April and will now carry the Golden Bib at the next race in their chase for the six consecutive wins and the biggest prize in Swimrun – € 33 000
Next stop: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly of the coast of the UK on June 9 -10
“What a day! Relentless chasing and being chased, in and out of the water, up and down through out this magical setting. So hard yet so beautiful! , said Pontus Lindberg after finishing as overall winner with George Bjälkemo (SWE), Team Garmin.
The island of Utö and its archipelago, just over two hours from the Stockholm City centre is the craddle of Swimrun, where the original bet was made. The islands have everything; tight forest trails, open country roads, rocks, clear water and beautiful views! It follows the footsteps of the origin of the sport and all the Original4 that made the bet are involved in the race. Utö follows ÖTILLÖ’s claim of having unique races in unique places!
The 43 km race course of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö is tough. 17 swim sections makes for 32 transitions between land and water, where the teams are constantly going in and out of the water. In May the water temperatures range between 8 – 11 degrees C. The near perfect weather made the swims warmer than expected but instead the heat took its toll on land. The running sections are technical and intense with short hills up and down all the time. There is nowhere the teams can rest mentally.
Some teams had to struggle to make it in time for the three cut offs. The top teams pushed each other hard, chasing each other in a tight group all the way to the last swims before the finish line. The level of competition is mind blowing!
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.
203 teams of two from 22 different nations travelled to Utö to compete in the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago. The day prior to the race a shorter more accessible race was organised, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint Utö, offering the same flavours as the longer more challenging race but in a smaller format.This race had 110 teams registered from a total of 15 nations.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö qualify to the 2018 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship, on 3 September in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö
Men
- Team Garmin – Pontus Lindberg SWE & George Bjälkemo SWE
- Team Envol – Nicolas Remires FRA & Julian Dent AUS
- Sailfish Bröderna Bäver – Jonas Ekman Fischer SWE & Lars Ekman SWE
Mixed
- Thule Crew – Martin Flinta SWE & Helena Erbenova Karaskova CZE
- Say No to Doping – Jasmina Glad Screven FIN & Thomas Schreven NDL
- Team Envol – Helena Sivertsson SWE & Henrik Wahlberg SWE
Women
- Team Envol – Fanny Dackwardt SWE & Desirée Andresson SWE
- Outdoorexperten/ Team Garmin – Kristin Larsson SWE & Michelle Nyström SWE
- Team Wild Women – Elisabet Persdotter Westman SWE & Maria Rohman SWE
Fast facts ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö 2018
- Utö, Sweden
- Total race distance: 42 820 m
- Trail running: 37 655 m
- Swimming: 5 165 m
- Swim sections: 17
- Longest swim: 600 m
- Longest run: 6 670 m
- 207 Teams of two; for safety reasons and for the unique experience
About Swimrun and ÖTILLÖ
Swimrun is the fast growing sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming along a marked course. There is no time to lose – you run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes! It is a unique sport and experience as you always race with a partner and the race course is 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.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2018
There are six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ. At each World Series event a sprint race is organised the same weekend.
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, April 8, 2018
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, May 20, 2018
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, June 10 2018
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, July 8, 2018
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, September 30, 2018 (Qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2019)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun xxx, France, October 21, 2018 – just released. (Qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2019)
ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship
- 13th edition on September 3rd, 2018
- 75 km over and between 26 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago
- Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world
Media Contact
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series
media.requests@otilloswimrun.com
Hannes Hofer +41 79 818 98 28
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship
pr@otilloswimrun.com
Josefine Ås +33 6 79 04 23 46
