ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Malta

Full Speed Racing On A Very Challenging Race Course

Press Release / 08.11.2021

The ÖTILLÖ World Series race on Malta has an aura carried over from 2019 of being a very challenging race. This 2021 edition did not break that mould.

A race day with wind, waves and overcast weather set the stage for a very tough race for the front of the pack in all three categories, and favourites managed to walk away with wins in each category.

This last race of the season saw the Swedish/ Australian duo - Hugo Tormento (FRA) & World Champion Adriel Young (AUS) - Team ARK Swimrun - pull away after about two hours to take the win in the World Series race. Their winning time was 4:22:00, finishing seven minutes ahead of the Mixed World Champion Victor Dahl (SWE)who was racing with Frenchman Alexis Charrier. In third place were Alexandre Dumoulin & Alexis Kardes (FRA), who finished in 4:39:45.

The mixed category saw the US team of Gregory Dierksen & Bronwen Price - Dierksen dominate the field, winning in 5:05:55. This was eight minutes ahead of Team Marks Real Estate - Therese Osteraas (NOR) & Martin Flinta (SWE). In third place Benjamin Soulie & Agnès Rozenberg (FRA) finished twelve minutes behind the mixed winners.

In the Women’s category the top ranked team  of Ulrika Eriksson & Marika Wagner (SWE) had a great race and won in 5:16:12. They pulled away early to claim the victory, seven minutes ahead of the Helen Wikmar & Emma Wannberg (SWE) - Team ARKSouls Addnature. In third place, Josefine Jangvert & Lorraine Axegård (SWE) finished eleven minutes behind the winners.

The races during the weekend at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Malta had close to 360 racers representing a total of 28 nationalities participating in the three different formats.

The World Series Race In Detail

"We pushed hard and had a tough day on a challenging course where we could never relax throughout the day" said the happy, but tired, winners Hugo Tormento (FRA) & Adriel Young (AUS) - ARK Swimrun - after finishing as overall winners in 4:22:00

The ÖTILLÖ World Series course in Malta is 39 km long of which a little over 31 km are running and close to 7.5 km are swimming over 14 swims. The course started on the beach at Golden Bay and finished in the same place after a rollercoaster ride through beautiful landscapes, lots of hills and some big swims. Not many racers expected the amount of up and down they had to complete along the way.

The weather created a bit of a challenge for the racers with wind, big swells on some swims and overcast weather. Air and water temperatures were around 22 degrees.

Several teams had to struggle to make it in time for the three cut offs. Some had to abandon along the way. The top teams pushed each other hard, chasing each other all the way to the finish.

80 teams of two and 24 solo racers representing 20 nations were registered to compete in the ÖTILLÖ World Series Malta, the second qualifier of the year for ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2022 in the Swedish archipelago. Only teams qualify for the World Championship.

The day prior to the race two shorter, more accessible races were organised, the ÖTILLÖ Sprint and ÖTILLÖ Experience, offering the same flavours as the longer, more challenging race but in a smaller format.

Nine top teams at ÖTILLÖ  World Series Malta qualify to ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2022 on September 5th, 2022 in the Stockholm Archipelago; the top 4 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.

The complete results list for ÖTILLÖ Malta is available at: https://otilloswimrun.com/results/otillo-swimrun-malta-results/