MAY 19, 2019
The second race of the 2019 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series on the beautiful island of Utö in Sweden was a fight to the bitter end. Tough, intense but beautiful.
After a perfect week the weather turned sour. A little rain, very still and relatively cold water temperatures made the race tough. That along with the extreme pressure between the top teams made for a very fast race. This set the stage for the 2nd ÖTILLÖ swimrun weekend of the season.
A little more than 650 competitors came out to participate in the start of the Swedish swimrun season and braved the cold water.
For the Sunday World Series race the 40,3 kilometres course was a true test, alternating technical trail running with a total of eighteen (18) very, intense swims in some times 8 – 9 degree C water.
THE WINNERS Jonas Ekman Fischer & Lars Ekman, Sailfish Team Bröderna Bäver (SWE), managed to pull away at the end and cross the finish line as the first team after 4:01:20, a little over three minutes ahead of current World Champions ARK Swimrun Alexander Flores (SWE) & Fredrik Axegård (SWE). The very strong Kenny Meijer (SWE) & Amanda Nilsson – Team hives.co (SWE) finished as first mixed team 4:09:42. The first women’s team Anna Holmström & Desirée Andersson (SWE) Team Envol completed an impressive race and finished after 4:44:09
Next stop: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly off the coast of the UK on June 8 -9.
High resolution photos and video free of right for press only:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/glxdsldd5xbs2ur/AACcSLzR_Dkz4dW5cJ_o-ikra?dl=0
Please credit the photographer: Pierre Mangez/ÖTILLÖ Utö (indicated in the photo)
“There were a lot of good teams in the front today, changing the lead all the time. Putting pressure on each other. At the end we got a small break and pushed hard hoping it would hold all the way. We are very happy with our second win of the season.”, said Jonas Ekman Fischer after finishing as overall winner with Lars Ekman (SWE), Sailfish Team Bröderna Bäver.
The island of Utö and its archipelago, just over two hours from the Stockholm City centre is the craddle of Swimrun, where the original bet that started the sport was made. The islands have everything; tight forest trails, open country roads, rocks, clear water and beautiful views! It follows the footsteps of the origin of the sport and all the Original4 that made the bet are involved in the race. Utö follows ÖTILLÖ’s claim of having unique races in unique places!
The 40,3 km race course of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö is tough. 18 swim sections makes for 34 transitions between land and water, where the teams are constantly going in and out of the water. The water temperatures range between 8 – 9 degrees C. The running sections are technical and intense with short hills up and down all the time. There is nowhere the teams can rest mentally.
Some teams had to struggle to make it in time for the three cut offs. The top teams pushed each other hard, chasing each other in a tight group all the way to the last swims before the finish line. The level of competition is mind blowing!
At all ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series events teams race in pairs. Working wisely with your partner is decisive. Using each other’s strengths will push boundaries. The team experience is incomparable and can only be fully understood by those who have practiced it, and is part of why swimrun is growing so fast in popularity.
193 teams of two from 26 different nations travelled to Utö to compete in the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Swedish archipelago.
The day prior to the race two shorter more accessible race were organised, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint Utö and the ÖTILLÖ Experience Utö, offering the same flavours as the longer more challenging race but in a smaller format.These races had close to 250 racers registered from a total of 17 nations.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö qualify to the 2019 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship, on September 2nd in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, 19 May 2019
Men
- Jonas Ekman Fischer & Lars Ekman (SWE) Sailfish Team Bröderna Bäver – winner photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/linnt5lf833e8qm/OTILLO%20Uto%20-%202019%20-%20102147-190519-PierreMangez-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Alexander Flores & Fredrik Axegård (SWE) ARKswimrun
- George Bjälkemo & Pontus Lindberg (SWE) Team ATG Sport
Mixed
- Kenny Meijer & Amanda Nilsson (SWE) Team hives.co – winner photo:https://www.dropbox.com/s/7d56xdaqp4k2uqv/OTILLO%20Uto%20-%202019%20-%20114902-190519-PierreMangez-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Martin Flinta (SWE) & Helena Karaskova Erbenova (CZE), Thule Crew/Wolffwear Head SR team
- Charlotte Eriksson & Simon Börjeson (SWE)
Women
- Anna Hellström & Desirée Andersson (SWE), Team Envol Fanny/Desirée – winner Photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fpopocvlddgyg2c/OTILLO%20Uto%20-%202019%20-%20150014-190519-PierreMangez-3-HR.jpg?dl=0
- Helen Wikmar & Isabella Hedberg (SWE), Team ARKsouls
- Anneli Wall & Jenny Ramstedt (SWE) Head Swimming
Photos and video free to use for media
(please credit Pierre Mangez/ ÖTILLÖ)
A video highlight for web use will be uploaded on Monday, May 27th on the same link as above.
The location
The island of Utö, just shy of two hours from the Swedish capital, Stockholm is an incredible swimrun location.
The origin of the sport is here, the four persons that made the original bet are involved in the race, the course is like a fantastic sauce of the World Championship course and it is one of the biggest swimrun gatherings in Sweden.
Spring in the outer archipelago is fantastic, the water is chilly with temperatures between 8 and 11 degrees C. The air is fresh and everything is coming alive.
Add on the beautiful pre-summer light, the remote parts of the course, blooming wild flowers and wonderful people.
New formats
On Saturday, May 18th we will host several shorter races to make the sport accessible to more people and to let newcomers experience the beauty of swimrun. All under the best organisation in the business.
The EXPERIENCE distance is 7 km with 4 swim sections totalling 950 metres. This race distance you can either do in teams of two or solo.
The SPRINT eludes to the distance and not to the speed. It is a total of 13,3 km with 7 swim sections totalling 2050 metres. This race distance you can either do in teams of two or solo.
We have more than 200 persons signed up for these beautiful tastes of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2019
There are six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ. At each World Series event a Sprint and Experience race is organised the same weekend.
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, April 7, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, May 19, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, June 9, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, July 7, 2019
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, September 22, 2019 (Qualifier for ÖTILLÖ 2020)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Cannes, France, October 20, 2019 (Qualifier for ÖTILLÖ 2020)
ÖTILLÖ THE SWIMRUN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
- 14th edition on September 2nd, 2019
- 75 km over and between 26 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 sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming along a marked course. You run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes! It is a unique sport and experience as you often race with a partner and the race courses are in wild nature. 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 (CNN 2012).
Media contact
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series
Hannes Hofer
media.requests@otilloswimrun.com
+41 79 818 98 28
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship
Josefine Ås
pr@otilloswimrun.com
+33 6 79 04 23 46
Fast facts ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar 2019
- Hvar, Croatia
- Total race distance: 40,4 km
- Trail running: 31,6 km
- Swimming: 8,8 km
- Swim sections: 9
- Longest swim: 2 950 m
- Longest run: 13 600 m
- Teams of two; for safety reasons and for the unique experience
- 142 registered teams
- 20 nations
