RACE DIRECTORS REPORT
ÖTILLÖ SWIMRUN UTÖ 2022
The start of the 2022 season on Utö was a very clear reminder from nature that all we can do is adapt. This was a real reality check after two years of the pandemic. Most of us have lived in our bubbles and have not had to face the reality of the outdoors unless we have chosen to.
In a period of close to two weeks of great weather we got the two days of stormy weather for the day before the race and of the day of the race. At the same time we were extremely lucky to have not received the masses of rain promised. It was a real Dryrobe day.
The winter has been long and the water was colder than usual. That in a combination with wetsuits being lighter and faster than in past years and peoples desires to also be light and fast made for a very cold day. We saw people starting in short sleeves or no sleeves and without neoprene bandanas and caps.
All in all we had close to 70% of all starting racers finish the races. The biggest drop out was in the World Series distance where exposure to the cold made racers have to make active decisions to either stop or continue.
It is days like these that we remember, where we are faced with a situation that we, in our comfortable world have to make active decisions about what to wear, if we start and if we continue. We realize how important it is to care for each other. The rest becomes unimportant. We are very impressed by how you all handled it.
We have learned that we cannot have races in the Stockholm archipelago in May anymore. Next year, ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö will be on the Saturday before Midsummer. On the 17th of June, 2023. We would like to establish this as the new ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö date and enjoy water like last year which was between 15 – 18 degrees on the same weekend.
PODIUMS & QUALIFIED TEAMS
Everyone who took the start on Saturday is a winner. Everyone who took an active decision about what to do during the race is a winner. Here is a link to the Podiums & qualified teams. Congratulations to all of you.
IMAGES & VIDEO
You can find all images here.
The official video below.
NEXT RACE
On June 4th & 5th we are finally back on the Isles of Scilly after being away for two year. The water is warmer (13- 14 degrees) but the swim distances are longer. Make sure you think about this and the time you will spend in the water when choosing what to wear.
