This is ÖTILLÖ
ÖTILLÖ was born
It all started in 2002 with a crazy drunken bet of four friends that wanted to cross the Stockholm archipelago from Utö to Sandhamn (70km) without aids. They competed in pairs, swam and ran from island to island, and the last team to make it to Sandhamn had to pay for the evening. This was the first recorded Swimrun in history! In 2006, the Swedish adventure racer duo Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott turned this bet into a commercial race called ÖTILLÖ, which is Swedish and means island to island. ÖTILLÖ is the origin of the sport of Swimrun.
The Sport of Swimrun
Swimrun is a sport, where teams of two alternate between running and swimming along a pre-marked course in nature. Since Swimrunners do not change their gear when transitioning from land to water, it becomes a seamless motion, giving you an enourmous sense of freedom. For us, Swimrun is about experiencing nature in the purest possible way, with respect for yourself, for others, and for the environment. Nowadays, Swimrun is done in teams of two or solo.
world championship
Every first Monday in September, ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship, takes place in the Stockholm archipelago. The best Swimrunners from all over the world are invited to compete. The course across 24 islands has not been changed since the original four friends completed it in around 26 hours in 2002. 20 years later, in 2022, the winning team of Max Andersson and Hugo Tormento set the current course record of 7:00:59 hours.
Find your race
Running your first Swimrun, or competing for a podium spot,
we have a bucket list race for you.
Where will your next race take you?