ENGADIN, SWITZERLAND, 10 JULY 2016
Swimrun – the new, rapidly growing sport of alternating trail running and open water swimming
What an achievement of Kristin Larsson and Daniel Hansson, Team Addnature and Swedish Armed Forces! Not only did the Swedish duo win the overall victory of the third edition of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, but they also crushed the race course record with 14 minutes, and beat the second team with 15,44 minutes, with the impressive time of 6h 14min 17 sec!
320 competitors from 18 nations in teams of two took on the challenging and unique swimrun race ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin in the Swiss Alps. The athletes tackled a total of 53,3 kilometres of alternating trail running and open water swimming on the mountain trails and cold alpine lakes in the stunning Engadin valley.
It has been a very special weekend as a mixed team also took the overall win at the shorter “sprint event” hosted on Saturday 9 July. An historical moment in the world of swimrun as there has never previously been a mixed team on top of the overall podium at an ÖTILLÖ event.
Winner Mixed: Kristin Larsson and Daniel Hansson (SWE), Team Addnature and Swedish Armed Forces, 6:14:17
Winnner Men: Igor Nastic and Jean-Marc Cattori (SUI), Ticino Bad Boys, 6:30:01
Winner Women: Salli Carlfjord and Charlotte Eriksson (SWE), Team Öra, 7:17:54
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin is a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship, and part of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2016.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin 2016 (Photo: Nadja Odenhage)
“This race suits us. It’s our favourite race of all categories! We are strong runners even uphill and we like the altitude gain. Our team work is perfect as we have been racing together for a long time and know each other inside out. We are good at focusing for a long time and pushing hard to the very end. I’m speechless of winning and so happy,” said the extraordinary athlete Kristin Larsson after the finish line.
The 320 competitors in teams of two experienced a very tough physical challenge in the picture-perfect “Heidi”-like landscape of the Engadin valley. Besides a killing vertical gain of 1 450 metres, the 53,3 kilometre course consists of 47,45 km trail running (in your wetsuit) and 5,87 km open-water swimming through seven mountain lakes (in your running shoes), with a water temperature at around 12-14 degrees C. The competitors had 16 changes between running and swimming throughout the course, which is why you keep the wetsuit and shoes on for the entire race.
It wasn’t the cold water temperature that was the biggest challenge today, it was to handle the summer heat when running in a wetsuit, and then dealing with the big temperature differences of air and water.
The second team overall and winner of the men’s category, Igor Nastic and Jean-Marc Cattori, Ticino Bad Boys (SUI), was chasing the Germans André Hook and Wolfgang Grohe, Team Campz, all along the course and managed to pass them for the last hour and crossed the finish line four minutes ahead. The first women’s team Salli Carlfjord and Charlotte Eriksson of Sweden, finished at Silvaplana an hour after the overall winners at 7:17:54.
The race course passed the famous alpine village St. Moritz, as well as the genuine mountain towns Maloja, Sils, Champfer, to finally finish at the sports center in Silvaplana. Despite a gruelling race course the views are more than stunning; high mountains with snowy peaks reign over the valley with scenic emerald blue lakes, cows grazing on the flowery meadows close to the picturesque alpine villages, and surrounded by beautiful pine forests.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin qualify to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship,on 5 September in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
Top 3 result ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin
Men
- Igor Nastic and Jean-Marc Cattori (SUI), Team Ticino Bad Boys, 6:30:01
- André Hook and Wolfgang Grohe (GER), Team Campz.com, 6:34:23
- Gilbert Cavedon and Daniel Besse (SUI), Rushteam 2, 6:39:04
Mixed
- Kristin Larsson and Daniel Hansson (SWE), Team Addnature and Swedish Armed Forces, 6:14:17
- Martina Ågren and Oskar Davidsson (SWE), Team Carbon, 6:56:01
- Elfie Arnaud and Tom Ralite (FRA), Team Belove, 6:57:19
Women
- Salli Carlfjord and Charlotte Eriksson (SWE), Team Öra, 7:17:54
- Lise Darefeuille and Marion Puech (FRA), Team Les Poulettes, 7:41:28
- Naomi Shiniks and Patricia Richardson (GBR), Team Tri London Ladies, 7:44:52
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Sprint Engadin
The sprint race is a shorter more accessible version of the World Series race at each event and was held for the first time in Engadin on Saturday 9 July. A lot of women power was proved at the 13,5 km sprint in Engadin – it was the first ÖTILLÖ race in history with more women than men registered!
Two times ÖTILLÖ Women World Champions, Bibben Nordblom and Charlotta Nilsson from Sweden rocked the course and lead for most of it but finally finished 2 seconds after the overall winners, mixed team Jean-Claude Besse and Cendrine Gerosa from Switzerland. The overall podium saw four women and two men!
About Swimrun and ÖTILLÖ – the Swimrun World Championship
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 sport has grown hugely popular amongst endurance sport athletes, triathletes, trail runners, swimmers and nature lovers. It has drawn the attention to celebrities like Pippa Middleton who competed successfully in the ÖTILLÖ World Championship last September.
ÖTILLÖ (meaning island to island in Swedish) is the original and the world’s longest swimrun race, renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world. You run 65 km on island trails, slippery rocks, unbeaten terrain and you swim a total of 10 km in the cold water of the Baltic Sea. To make it to the finish line before the cut-offs and darkness you can never stop.
ÖTILLÖ is celebrating its 11th edition on 5 September 2016. 120 teams participate and 700 teams are on the waiting list.
Media Contact
Josefine Ås
pr@otilloswimrun.com
+33 6 79 04 23 46
