15 MARCH 2017
A very international line up with 23 nationalities will be racing at the inaugural ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar in Croatia, Sunday, 2 April 2017. Some of the best swimrun teams in the world are ready to kick off the 2017 swimrun season at the stunning race course of Hvar, along with over a hundred other international teams, racing in pairs.
ÖTILLÖ Hvar is the first ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series race 2017. The stakes are high as the first team to cross the finish line will gain the golden bib, and can take on the challenge to win all ÖTILLÖ World Series events 2017, with a prize money of 100 000 Euro!
More information on ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar: http://otilloswimrun.com/races/hvar/
The island of Hvar, accessible off the Croatian coast from Split, is an incredible swimrun location and the perfect opening race for the swimrun season. The sea is crystal clear, the water temperature on race day will be around 16°C-17°C and, on a sunny day, air temperatures can climb to 20°C. The 45,5 km race course is challenging, with almost 35 km of trail running, including some good vertical climbs and descents, as well as two crossings between the north and south coast of the island. Racers need to be good swimmers to handle the 10 different swim sections totalling 10 600 metres, where the longest swim is a brutal 2 950 metres! Add on some Roman ruins, beautiful architecture, blooming wild flowers, the smell of rosemary, and wonderful people, and this course makes for a great setting.
Ivan Verunica, managing director for INCroatia, a sports and educational travel agency, approached the ÖTILLÖ organisers to hold an event in Croatia.
”When I first heard of ÖTILLÖ less than two years ago, by a swimmer from England, I looked up the company and was absolutely shocked with the discovery. Beyond the sheer physical strain that the racers endure, I was immediately attracted to the camaraderie aspect of competing in tandems, as well as the working-with-nature outline of the sport. Knowing the Croatian coast quite well, it was hard for me to think of a place that would not be suitable for an ÖTILLÖ race. The sport of swimrun and the beautiful mountainous coast of the clear Adriatic Sea are a match made in heaven. An exciting new chapter in the ÖTILLÖ book will be written in Hvar, Croatia.”
Some of swimrun’s top teams will be taking on the challenge in Hvar. Swimrun world champions and winners of ÖTILLÖ World Series events will be on the start line, as well as athletes from all over the world, some are veterans of swimrun and some are totally new to the sport, but eager to find out why so many people are so hooked to the unique experience of racing in swimrun.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar is part of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series and a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago. The day prior to the race a shorter more accessible race is organised at Hvar, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint Hvar, offering the same flavours as the longer more challenging race but in a smaller format.
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series is heading for its second season with six qualifier races for the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship. Two exciting new events are seeing its birth in 2017; ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar in Croatia, on 2 April, and an event soon to be revealed in November.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2017
Six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ:
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, 2 April -17 First edition!
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, 28 May -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, 17 June -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, 9 July -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, 22 Oct -17 (qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2018)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun XX – event to be officially confirmed, Nov -17 (qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2018) First edition!
At each World Series event a sprint race is organised the previous day.
ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship
- 12th edition on 4 September 2017
- 75 km over and between 26 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago
- Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world
- Race information
About Swimrun and ÖTILLÖ
Swimrun is the fast growing sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming on 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 out 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 Hvar is the latest addition to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series.
Media Contact
Josefine Ås
pr@otilloswimrun.com
+33 6 79 04 23 46
