ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship
Smashed Course Records at ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2022
Press Release / 05.09.2022
Course records were absolutely crushed at the 75 km long course of ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2022 in the Stockholm Archipelago.
The exceptionally strong and unbeatable Swedish/French duo Max Andersson and Hugo Tormento took on the race with unprecedented force and beat the previous course record with incredible 38 minutes, passing the finish line with the mind-blowing time of 7:00:59.
The ultra strong Swedish mixed team Desirée Andersson and Alexander Berggren finished fourth overall and is the first mixed team ever finishing under eight hours with 7:49:54, beating the previous course record in the category with not less than 25 minutes!
Swedes Helena Sivertsson and Ulrika Eriksson took a dominant win as well as beating the previous women’s course record with 21 minutes with the finishing time of 8:35:56. What an impressive day of swimrun racing!
The Swedish/French duo Max Andersson and Hugo Tormento, team Ark Swimrun, has been unbeatable in the 2022 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series season, winning every race to date.
The team stepped up the game even further for ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship and took on the course with an unexpectedly fast pace. Beating last year’s course record by 38 minutes and beating second placed team Maxime Picaud and William Even from France with 42 minutes, is an astounding performance by the two athletes. They were untouchable and far ahead of the chasing pack during the entire 75 km long course, running and swimming through the beautiful islands in the Stockholm Archipelago.
"The conditions couldn’t have been better, with mild temperatures but not too hot, calm seas and a slight wind from the back. Our plan was to swim fast in the early part of the race to get ahead of the pack and then have a controlled running pace throughout the course," said Hugo Tormento of France, with a swimming background that perfectly complemented Swede Max Andersson’s background as a runner.
Runner up champions in the men’s category Maxime Picaud and William Even, team Shark BZH HEAD from France, had a great debut with a flawless race for their first time at the Swimrun World Championship, illustrating a generation shift in the sport with a strong dominance of hungry French athletes in all three categories, men, women and mixed.
The strong mixed teams Desirée Andersson and Alexander Berggren, team Desi och Alex (SWE), as well as Amanda Nilsson and Adriel Young, Team A.A.ARK (SWE/AUS), were amongst the cluster of teams chasing the untouchable leading team. Reigning mixed champion Desirée Andersson and her 2022 team mate Alexander Berggren pulled away from Amanda Nilsson and Adriel Young after two thirds of the race and just kept going in a never seen pace in the mixed category, passing the finish line under eight hours with 7:49:54 and only a minute after third placed men’s team.
"My goal was to push myself to achieve a better result than previous years. Everything felt well and we would really hold a steady pace. It is usually fast but this year it was faster and quite an experience to swim at this pace!" said Desirée Andersson who beat her own course record from last year’s edition with an incredible 25 minutes.
In the women’s category, reigning world champion Helena Sivertsson with team mate Ulrika Eriksson, Team Stena Recycling (SWE), had a comfortable lead for most of the race with a good gap to the chasing teams, but still keeping an eye on last year’s runner ups Therese Bergling and Evelina Järvinen, team Wild Westcoast (SWE), pushing the winning team to speed up and finish with the fastest time ever in the women’s category 8:35:56. Sivertsson and Eriksson were paired together last night as both their initial team mates abandoned last second due to illness!
"We started as a team and won as a team! Our mantra of the day was to finish before 3 pm and we did it!" said Ulrika Eriksson after a great race and a beaten course record of 21 minutes.
The competitors tackled 65 km trail running and 10 km open water swimming over and between 24 islands in the stunning Stockholm archipelago. ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship is long and it is painful but racing with the elements of nature is a unique experience. As a competitor you need to be well prepared, race it wisely with your team mate to excel and find a pace that will take you all the way to the finish line, making the cut offs before dark.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2022:
Men
1. Max Andersson (SWE) and Hugo Tormento (FRA) ARK Swimrun, 07:00:59
2. Maxime Picaud and William Even, Team Shark BZH HEAD, 7:42:47
3. Kenny Meijer (SWE) and Lars Ekman (SWE), Ark Swimrun, 7:48:38
Mixed
1. Desirée Andersson (SWE) and Alexander Berggren (SWE), Team Desi och Alex, 7:49:54
2. Amanda Nilsson (SWE) and Adriel Young (AUS), A.A.ARK, 7:59:10
3. Sabina Rapelli (CH) and Alexis Charrier (FRA), Team Envol Head Zoggs, 8:08:39
Women
1. Ulrika Eriksson (SWE) and Helena Sivertsson (SWE), Team Stena Recycling, 8:35:56
2. Evelina Järvinen (SWE) and Therese Bergling (SWE), Wild Westcoast, 8:50:20
3. Aline Tavernier (FRA) and Julia Moustakir (FRA), Team Aline et Julia, 9:08:39
Complete result list: https://otilloswimrun.com/results/otillo-swimrun-world-championship-results/
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