SEPTEMBER 30, 2018
A VERY FAST 6TH RACE OF THE SEASON
This race will go down in the record books. For the first time a team wins six (6) ÖTILLÖ races in a row and take home the coveted GOLDEN BIB and 33 000€ in Prize money. Team Thule Crew manged the very hard feat in the MIXED category and finished 4th overall.
The 2018 ÖTILLÖ 1000 Lakes was the sixth ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series Weekend this year and also the first Qualifier for the 2019 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship.
This 3rd edition of the race in the Mecklenburger Seenplatte just North of Berlin in Germany is in an astonishing place which few outside of Germany know about. The area has more than 3 000 fresh water lakes with very clean water. This lakes are in a landscape of beautiful beech tree forests that start changing colors in the end of September.
Team SportOffice (SWE), the current World Champions Alex Flores & Fredrik Axegård managed to pull away in the end and to win the overall race in 4:24:08. 1 minute ahead of New Mohicans – Knut Badshaug (NOR) & Carson Christen (USA).
However, this is overshadowed by the very impressive racing this season by Mixed World Champions, Martin Flinta (SWE) & Helena Karaskova Erbenova (CZE) Team Thule Crew who finished as first mixed team, with the time of 4:35:04, 4th overall and most importantly – WINNERS OF THE GOLDEN BIB – 33 000€ for the first time ever. They have managed to win six races in a row starting in Hvar in April.
The first women’s team Team Head Swimming/ Garmin – Helen Maalinn (EST) & Helena Sivertsson (SWE) completed an impressive race and finished after 4:48:32. 21 minutes ahead of Team Head – Nina Ellmark (GER) & Lena Trillelv (SWE)
The race
“This season has been so hard. Elena and I have done great in every race but the pressure has just gotten bigger and bigger. We are so happy to have won the GOLDEN BIB after six very good wins,” said the very happy Martin Flinta (SWE) after winning their sixth race in a row in the mixed category with Elena Erbanova Karaskova (CZE), Team Thule Crew.
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes course is 42km long of which 34 km are running and 8 km are swimming. The course is hard and fast. Each of the 12 runs are almost flat on hard-packed sand trails through beautiful beech forests. The 10 swims are in clean, beautiful lakes where there is very little waves or wind. This in combination makes for a very fast race course which is very challenging as you always have to push it. The course is linear with a start in the beautiful town of Wesenberg and the finish in the town of Rheinsberg, almost straight South.
Water temperatures have been between 14 – 16 degress with alomost ideal conditions beside a bit of morning cold. The beech forests makes this course almost to a magical experience running in a very linear world. It truly is a unique and original swimrun experience that many teams come back to year after year.
Several teams had to struggle to make it in time for the two cut offs. Some had to abandon along the way. The top teams pushed each other hard, chasing each other in a tight group all the way to the finish line. The level of competition has really exploded!
At all ÖTILLÖ swimrun World Series events teams race in pairs. Using each other’s strengths will push boundaries. The team experience is incomparable and is part of why swimrun is growing so fast in popularity.
115 teams of two from 23 different nations travelled to the 1000 Lakes area to compete in the ÖTILLÖ 1000 Lakes, the lfirst qualifier for the 2019 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago.
The day prior to the race two shorter, more accessible race were organised, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint and ÖTILLÖ Experience, offering the same flavours as the longer, more challenging race but in a smaller format.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ 1000 Lakes qualify to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2019, on 2 September 2019 in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, September 30th, 2018
Men
- Fredrik Axegård & Alex Flores (SWE) Team SportOffice
- Knut Badshaug (SWE) & Carson Christen (USA) New Mohicans
- Nicolas Remires (FRA) & Luca Mazzurana (ITA) Team Envol
Mixed
- Martin Flinta (SWE) & Helena Karaskova Erbenova (CZE), Team Thule Crew / Wolffwear Swimrun
- Claire Thibault (FRA) & Christophe Leray (FRA) Team ChrisClaire BSC
- Erik Molund (SWE) & Heli Molund (FIN) Team Nöd o Lust
Women
- Helen Maalinn (EST) & Helena Sivertsson (SWE) Team Swimming/ Garmin
- Nina Ellmark (GER) & Lena Trillelv (SWE) – Team Head
- Anneli Wall (SWE) & Jenny Ramstedt (SWE) Team Envol/ Head Swimming
Fast facts ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes 2018
- Mecklenburger Seenplatte / North East Germany
- 3rd edition, Sunday, September 30th, 2018
- Sprint race (16,4 km), Saturday, September 29th
- Total race distance: 41 360 m
- 33 800 m of trail running
- 7 560 m of open water swimming
- 20 changes between running and swimming
- The 10 swim sections are between 330 and 1 300 metres long
- The runs are between 270 and 7 100 metres long
- Longest swim: 1 300 metres
- Longest run: 7 100 metres
- Teams of two; for safety reasons and for the unique experience
- 8 Teams qualify to ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2019
2018 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series
ÖTILLÖ 1000 Lakes is part of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series and a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago.
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series is heading for its third season with six qualifier races for the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship.
One exciting, new event (ÖTILLÖ Cannes) will see its birth in the autumn of 2018;
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2018
Six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ:
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, 8 April -18
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, 20 May -18
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, 10 June -18
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, 8 July -18
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, 30 Sept -18 (qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2019)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Cannes; France – 21 October – 18, First edition!
At each World Series event a sprint and experince race is organised the previous day.
ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship
- 14th edition on 2 September 2019
- 75 km over and between 25 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago
- Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world
About swimrun and ÖTILLÖ
Swimrun is one of the fastest growing endurance sports in the world where you alternate trail running and open-water swimming on a marked course.
ÖTILLÖ is the leading brand and the origin of the sport.
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.
Media contacts
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series
Hannes Hofer
+41 79 818 98 28
media.requests@otilloswimrun.com
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship
Josefine Ås
+33 6 79 04 23 46
pr@otilloswimrun.com
