The ninth edition of the gruelling 75km Swimrun World Championships was held in the Swedish archipelago yesterday (Monday 1 September). Widely recognised as one of the toughest one-day multisport races anywhere, this year’s event saw a close fight between defending champions Björn Englund and Paul Krochak (Team Head Swimming), and the contenders Lelle Moberg and Daniel Hansson (Team Milebreaker).
Beginning in the early hours, 240 competitors took on the gruelling challenge to swim and run 75km across 26 of the cluster of islands in Sweden, taking in island trails, slippery rocks, cold water and strong currents along the way. In all there were 119 teams which started the race this year, of which 98 finished.
The big test of the day was the first long swim – 1,700m in calm water of 11-12˚C. The new course record holders Team Milebreaker eventually crossed the line in 8:16:19, with Moberg enjoying his second ÖtillÖ win and Hansson his first.
“It hurts all over but it doesn’t matter! The competition is so tough and the top teams train all year to perform at this race,” said Moberg afterwards. “Every year the pace gets faster, its crazy. We raced tactically and it paid off. We let Englund and Krochak pass us early in the race and we put the pressure on. You really need to work well as a team and we’ve been pulling each other. Two are faster than one!”
The strongest lady in the field Ulrika Eriksson, who finished in a time of 9:52:11 in mixed team 2XU with Jonas Udehn. The quickest female team Bibben Nordblom and Charlotta Nilsson finished in 10:26:31, beating their time from last year by half an hour. “I was hoping to beat our time from last year,” said Nordblom. “The current and the waves weren’t as big and strong, it was very cold but the sea was quite calm.”
Men
1. Lelle Moberg and Daniel Hansson, Team Milebreaker/Öppet Hav (SWE) 8:16:19
2. Björn Englund and Paul Krochak, Team Head Swimming (SWE) 8:24:05
3. Anti Antonov and Marcus Hultgren, Team Bquick Redovisning (SWE) 8:42:11
Mixed
1. Ulrika Eriksson and Jonas Udehn, Team 2XU Mix (SWE) 9:52:11
2. Marika Wagner and Björn Rosenthal, Team Adeptic (SWE) 09:59:00
3. Erika Rosenbaum and Thomas Ogander, Team Brasserie Godot (SWE) 10:53:43
Women
1. Bibben Nordblom and Charlotta Nilsson, Team Puppy TS (SWE) 10:26:31
2. Jenny Nilsson and Magdalena Trumstedt, Team 2 QTRI (SWE) 10:55:46
3. Sanna Duvebrant and Annika Åström, Team Sankan (SWE) 11:16:12
For full results head HERE
For the complete photo gallery (180 pics), head to our Facebook page!