ÖTILLÖ - The Swimrun World Championship
Fantastic achievements at 10th Anniversary of ÖTILLÖ
News Release / 08.09.2015
The 10th year celebration of the gruelling ÖTILLÖ proved to be epic. Strong wind, turbulent water and a hard fought competition during the 75 km long race, revealed why ÖTILLÖ is recognised to be one of the toughest one-day races in the world.
The 240 competitors in teams of two from 24 different nations struggled all day when they ran and swam over and between 26 islands in the archipelago of Stockholm. The fight for top honours was tight and finally Swede Björn Englund and Canadian Paul Krochak, Team Head Swimming, were fastest down the incredibly long course. They reached the finishing line at the island of Utö, eight hours and 29 minutes after the start.
The first mixed team Marika Wagner and Staffan Björklund, Team Peak Performance powered by Apollo, put up an outstanding performance, finishing fifth overall. Marika Wagner is the first woman in ÖTILLÖs ten year's history to finish under nine hours! Maya Tesch and Annika Ericsson took victory in the women's class, on 10:30:36. All three winning teams are crowned swimrun world champions 2015.
With a growing number of active swimrun athletes who are gaining more experience every year, the competition at the top was harder than ever in all three disciplines men, mixed and women. The fight at the front took an exciting turn when course leaders Simon Börjesson and Rasmus Regnstrand lost their impressive lead after three quarters of the race. Winners of the 2013 edition Björn Englund and Paul Krochak started to close the gap, passed and pulled away.
"This victory is worth so much. We were so far behind but managed to keep our spirits high and tried to stay confident to catch them. When we saw them I thought I was hallucinating! We were so tired when we passed them but tried to look strong… It was so tough this year. I have never been that tired and the waves have never been that big. Our win was pure team work. I am shattered but so happy", said a very emotional Paul Krochak at the finishing line after completing the prestigious event.
The mixed team Marika Wagner and Stefan Björklund pushed to their limits and stayed close to the first teams during the whole race. It was an incredible performance to finish under nine hours and almost an hour faster than last year's course record in the mixed category! In the women's category Maya Tesch and Annika Ericsson dominated towards the end and finished strong with 10:30:36.
The athletes were exposed to the first big test at the first long swim shortly after the start, 1700 metres in cold and rough water. Then the challenge just went on for hours and hours. ÖTILLÖ is a gruelling course on island trails, slippery rocks, cold water and currents, and 75 km is long even for the fittest. The competitors had to fight the time cut offs to make it to the finish before dark.
England's Pippa Middleton completed an impressive race with her team partner Jöns Bartholdson, racing for Michael Matthews Foundation. Elated, they finished together with their fellow team mates and brother James Middleton and James Matthews after 13 hours 4 minutes and 24 seconds. "It is such a wonderful event. It pushes you to your limits. There are so many emotions and it feels amazing to be at the finish line. We had doubts on finishing, if we would make it, it was one of the hardest things I've done! The toughest part was the long swim with the cold water and big waves. But the scenery was beautiful and I love the team part of it. You really have to work along with your team mate", said Pippa Middleton, looking happy and strong at the finishing line.
Top 3 result ÖTILLÖ, 7 September 2015
Men
1. Björn Englund (SWE) & Paul Krochak (CAN), Team Head Swimming 8:29:11
2. Lennart Moberg (SWE) & Daniel Hansson (SWE), Swedish Armed Forces 8:36:08
3. Nicolas Remires (FRA) & Julian Dent (AUS), Envol 8:39:39
Mixed
1. Marika Wagner (SWE) & Staffan Björklund (SWE), Team Peak Perfomance powered by Apollo 8:55:39
2. Helena Sivertsson (SWE) & Marcus Hultgren (SWE), Hästens sleep to perform 9:37:46
3. Fanny Danckwardt-Lillieström (SWE) & Pär Kristoffersoon (SWE), Team Orca 9:42:16
Women
1. Annika Ericsson (SWE) & Maya Tesch (SWE), Team SurfSport 10:30:36
2. Jenny Nilsson (SWE) & Magdalena Trumstedt (SWE), Team Serneke 10:58:37
3. Bibben Nordblom (SWE) & Charlotta Nilsson (SWE), Team LensWay 11:12:53
Full result list 2015: http://live.neptron.se/#/otillo2015/
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