August 10th, 2025
ÖTILLÖ SWIMRUN Åland 2025
Swimrun debut in the Åland Archipelago
Press Release
| Victor Dahl (SWE) and Alexis Charrier (FRA) win at first-ever ÖTILLÖ Åland. |
| Over the weekend, close to 300 athletes from 22 nations took part in three race formats: World Series and Sprint on Saturday, and Experience plus the brand-new Kids race on Sunday. The World Series course was technical and demanding, taking athletes along Åland’s stunning rocky northern coast and the rugged trails over its many islands. The weather conditions could not have been better: it was was sunny to partly cloudy with an air and water temperatures of around 20 degrees. The World Series course had a total distance of 48.7km and lead from the start in Havsvidden on the northern coast of Åland in south-western direction all the way to the Käringsund Resort near Eckerö. The course was split into 20 running and 20 swimming sections, which totalled up to 38.7km of running and 10km of open water swimming. Especially in the first part of the course, the running sections were very technical and challenging. The World Series race started at 7:45 in Havsvidden and very quickly, two groups of elite teams separated from the field. In the men’s category it was reigning World Champion Alexis Charrier together with former World Champion Victor Dahl who took the early lead, followed by the German / Swiss duo of Ben Thiesmeyer and Daniel Rowland and the French team of another reigning World Champion, Matthieu Poullain together with Thomas Deffain. Matthieu Poullain hurt his knee only an hour into the race, ending his hopes for another World Series win. On the island of Gamlan Alexis Charrier & Victor Dahl had an opportunity to open a gap to Ben Thiesmeyer & Daniel Rowland and subsequently pulled away. They eventually won the race with a very impressive overall time of 6 hours, 33 minutes and 40 seconds. Statement Victor Dahl “We had a very good day, it felt controlled from the start, great weather conditions, a bit choppy in the water but the course is beautiful. It is great to be the first racers on this very special course.” Statement Alexis Charrier “I agree with what Victor said. For us it was the last confirmation before ÖTILLÖ. We found out that the course looks pretty much exactly like ÖTILLÖ, because you end up on a gravel road at the end with some technical islands and perfect conditions, not too warm not too cold, the water was perfect, so a great day!” In the mixed category, the race unfolded in a similar way with two mixed teams, World Champion Sabina Rapelli from Switzerland and David Pesquet from France on the one hand, and the Swedish team of Linn Bengtsson and two-time World Champion Fredrik Axegård on the other hand, staying close together for a long time. It was only on the first long swim during the second half of the race that David Pesquet and Sabina Rapelli attacked and managed to get away from Fredrik Axegård and Linn Bengtsson. Both teams showed very strong performances, finishing second and third overall, among only four teams that could complete this very challenging and long race course in under 7 hours. Statement Sabina Rapelli “The race went very well, I was suffering a bit in the beginning trying to follow David and the super fast team Fredrik and Linn on the rocks. But after 2/3h I was feeling better and we managed to push the swims to get a gap on them. It was a very beautiful race, tough swims and super technicals runs!” Statement David Pesquet “It was a very tough race. Sabina was very strong and we had a very good day. Our opponents Fredrik and Linn were very strong on the rocks and during four and a half hours we had a big battle. I was trying to push hard in the swim sections to open a gap but every time we were on the rocks, they closed the gap again. Then I saw an opportunity, on the first of the multiple long swims before the 12k run, and I pushed really, really hard, maybe 90-95% of my capability, to open a gap. Then on the 12k run we tried to keep the pace and at the end we just tried to survive!” In the women’s category, Stine Møllebro from Denmark and Annika Koivu from Finland managed to get an early lead over the two Finnish teams of Meri Viljanen & Hanna Jokinen and Ninja Ehrnrooth & Terhi Pohjanhovi. Over the very long and challenging race course, Stine Møllebro and Annika Koivu, who had only teamed up days before the race and who had no previous experience racing together, showed a very strong performance and managed to consistently extend their lead. In the end they won with a lead of more than 40 minutes in 8 hours, 30 minutes and 50 seconds. Statement Stine Møllebro from Denmark “This race was really outstanding. Stunning course. Rough sea. Great atmosphere. It was a long day out there, and it suits me well. Annikka and I did a great teamwork. We got in contact first time this Tuesday. Met on Friday and raced Saturday. I think our performance is more than acceptable, and it’s definitely not the last time we’ve raced together. Next time we might be able to prepare a little before the start. Just knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses in advance is an advantage. We know them now, meaning we have something to optimize from.” In the women’s solo category, Terese Østeraas from Norway was the only woman to finish the race. In the men’s solo category, Ghislain Vachette from France beat Kevin Buffet from Belgium by 13 minutes with an overall time of 7:19:59. Jesse Oja from Finland came third. The next race will be the highlight of the year: ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship, on September 1st 2025. Race Results ÖTILLÖ Åland World Series results: MEN 1. Team Envol Orama – Alexis Charrier FRA & Victor Dahl SWE 6:33:40 2. Team Wings for Delia – Ben Thiesmeyer GER & Daniel Rowland SUI 6:59:49 3. Team MoM – Magnus Key SWE & Michael Brandt SWE 7:25:55 MIXED 1. Team Envolvent Saby & David – Sabina Rapelli SUI & David Pasquet FRA 6:51:22 2. Team YO Running Club – Fredrik Axegård SWE & Linn Bengtsson SWE 6:56:08 3. Team Winnvan – Johan Jönnson SWE & Linnea Olausson SWE 7:35:55 WOMEN 1. Team Nordic Mermaids – Stine Møllebro DEN & Annikka Koivu FIN 8:30:58 2. Team Nereids – Merz Viljanen FIN & Hanna Jokinen FIN 9:12:15 3 Team TNT – Ninja Ehrnrooth FIN & Terhi Pohjanhovi FIN 9:18:53 SOLO MEN 1. Ghislain Vasette FRA – 7:19:59 2. Kevin Buffet BEL – 7:33:02 3. Jesse Oja FIN – 8:07:54 SOLO WOMEN 1. Terese Østeraas NOR – 8:06:02 Another 190 athletes raced in the shorter distance ÖTILLÖ Sprint, ÖTILLÖ Experience and the Kids race, completing a beautiful day of Swimrun in Åland. Find the official race results here. Photos for free media use Official images (please credit photographer/ ÖTILLÖ) Flickr Album: On course images: ÖTILLÖ Åland 2025 Finish line images: ÖTILLÖ Åland 2025 About ÖTILLÖ and Swimrun Swimrun is an endurance sports where you alternate trail-running and open-water swimming on a marked course. ÖTILLÖ is the leading brand and the origin of the sport. ÖTILLÖ, The 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. https://otilloswimrun.com About ÖTILLÖ and Swimrun ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series ÖTILLÖ World Series Åland is part of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series and a qualifier to ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship, held on September 1st in the Swedish archipelago. In 2025, there are thirteen qualifying races to the World Championship: – ÖTILLÖ World Series Catalina, USA, 27 April – ÖTILLÖ World Series Utö, Sweden, 7 June – ÖTILLÖ World Series Engadin, Switzerland, 5 July – ÖTILLÖ World Series Whistler, Canada, 6 July – ÖTILLÖ World Series Gothenburg, Sweden, 26 July – ÖTILLÖ World Series Åland, 9-10 August – ÖTILLÖ World Series Casco Bay, USA, 10 August -ÖTILLÖ World Series Mackinac Island, USA, 24 August -ÖTILLÖ World Series Rügen, Germany, 13 September – ÖTILLÖ World Series Orcas Island, USA, 14 September – ÖTILLÖ World Series Cannes, France, 4 October -ÖTILLÖ World Series Colorado, USA, 5 October – ÖTILLÖ World Series Austin, USA, 9 November At each World Series event an EXPERIENCE & SPRINT race is also organized. ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 19th edition on September 1st, 2025 150 teams from all over the world 70 km over and between 24 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world Social Media You will find updates in our social media channels over the weekend. Please use #otilloaland, #otillo and tag @otillorace when making posts. |