July 8th, 2025
ÖTILLÖ SWIMRUN ENGADIN 2025
Changing conditions and some very tight battles
Press Release
| French duo Arnaud de Lustrac and Jérôme Gueguen defend their title in Engadin |
| Race day started with wind and cool temperatures for the first two hours of the race and then turned into a sunny calm day with temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius. The water temperature in the lakes of the Engadin valley was unusually warm this year with around 15 degrees Celsius on average. 450 athletes from 32 nations participated in the three race distances World Series, Sprint and Experience. The very demanding World Series course started in the host town Silvaplana and took the racers on a journey through the Upper Engadin valley, covering a total race distance of 42.7 km. The racers had to master 36.9 km of partly very technical trail running and 5.8 km of swimming across 9 swim sections in Lake Silvaplana, Lake Champfèr and Lake Sils. In the mens’ category, a very dramatic race unfolded right from the beginning: the 2024 defending champions Jérôme Gueguen and Arnaud de Lustrac from France set out at a very fast pace right from the start, establishing a lead in the very first swim over the pursuing teams of David Pesquet & Rémi Andrade, Ben Thiesmeyer & Daniel Rowland and Esteban Stutzmann & Félix Engelhard. The chasing group of teams stayed together and never let Jérôme Gueguen and Arnaud de Lustrac get far enough ahead to have a comfortable lead. After two thirds of the race, Esteban Stutzmann and Félix Engelhard dropped back so it became a fight for second and third place between David Pesquet & Rémi Andrade and Ben Thiesmeyer & Daniel Rowland, which the French team could decide for themselves on the very last run to the finish line. Statement Arnaud de Lustrac: “It was a really good day. It started off with a bit of wind and rain but during the day the weather conditions were great and then we had a lot of sun in the end. We were able to enjoy the amazing scenery along the whole race.” Jérôme Gueguen said: “Now we are enjoying it but during the race it was tough. We wanted to make it a hard race from the beginning because we did not want them to swim with us and so we went pretty much all out from the beginning and then we just hoped they were not going to catch up, so the legs were hurting from the beginning and with a four and a half hour race they were hurting for quite a while.” Arnaud de Lustrac further added: “I kept looking back to see if they were closing in on us because we really did not want them to swim on our feet so it was a pretty stressful race.” In the mixed category the two French duos Florian Schäfer & Lydie Waucquier and Pierre de Lustrac & Mélisande Muller were close together for nearly two thirds of the race until Florian Schäfer and Lydie Waucquier, who showed a very strong performance, could get away and race to a solid win. Statement Florian Schäfer: “It was a good day for us because the beginning of the year was very difficult for us. We raced three times and all three times is was never really good. One of us was always not good but today it all worked.” Lyde Waucquier added: “We were fighting with the second team mixed for about two and a half hours. It was not until Maloja Camping that we could get away from them and then we did not see them after that.” In the womens’ category the favorite team of Sabina Rapelli and Ulrika Eriksson was in the lead from the beginning but a win was not safe for a long time as Ulrika Eriksson was struggling with the elevation of the Engadin valley at 1’800 meters above sea level. Statement Ulrika Eriksson: “For me it was really tough but Sabina showed what Swimrun is about. It is a team work. Sabina kept pushing me forward and did a good pep talk all over the day.” Sabina Rapelli added: “I was quite happy about how I did today because I was feeling really well compared to last years. The altitude did not hit me today so that was really good for me. And I was really talking a lot because I think it is good when your partner is struggling to talk a lot and just think about everything else and not about the pain in the race.” Hugo Tormento showed an outstanding performance racing solo following a last minute cancellation of his partner. He caught up with the leading teams, who had started 5 minutes earlier, within the first two hours of the race and finished with the fastest time of the day of 4:19:36, more than 36 minutes ahead of Thierry Elena and Thomas Hustache, both also from France, making it an all French podium. Cendrine Gerosa from Switzerland won the solo race in the women’s category over Sara Pini from Italy and Annette van Dieren from the Netherlands. The next race of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2025 will be held in Whistler, Canada on July 6th. Race Results ÖTILLÖ Engadin World Series results: MEN 1. Team Kebab League – Jérôme Gueguen FRA & Arnaud de Lustrac FRA 4:38:56 2. Rémi & David The Spiderman Team – David Pesquet FRA & Rémi Andrade FRA 4:43:45 3. Team Wings for Delia – Daniel Rowland ZIM/SUI & Ben Thiesmeyer GER 4:44:21 MIXED 1. Team Schäfer coaching – Lydia Waucquier FRA & Florian Schäfer FRA 5:01:33 2. Team Kebabli League – Pierre de Lustrac FRA & Mélisande Muller FRA 5:09:51 3. Team mi-basque mi catalan – Céline Humbert FRA & Emeryc Gennesson FRA 5:47:56 WOMEN 1. Team Ullis och Sabina – Sabina Rapelli SUI & Ulrika Eriksson SWE 5:40:08 2 Team LisaochKlara – Lisa Ring SWE & Klara Willcocks Kjellgren SWE 5:59:24 3 Team Two Elements – Aleksandra Siwczuk POL & Magdalena Derezińska POL 7:02:28 SOLO MEN 1. Hugo Tormento FRA – 4:19:36 2. Thierry Ellena FRA – 4:55:57 3. Thomas Hustache FRA – 5:03:10 SOLO WOMEN 1. Centrine Gerosa SUI – 6:16:23 2. Sara Pini ITA – 6:45:52 3. Annelotte van Dieren NED – 6:50:12 Another 300 athletes raced in the shorter distance ÖTILLÖ Sprint and ÖTILLÖ Experience races, completing a beautiful day of Swimrun in Engadin, Switzerland. Find the official race results here. Photos Photos for free media use: Flickr Album: ÖTILLÖ Engadin 2025 Please credit photographer/ ÖTILLÖ 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. ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series ÖTILLÖ World Series Utö 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 |