ABOUT SWIMRUN
Swimrun is the sport that was born from a drunken bet. In 2011 it got the name from Erika Rosenbaum, one of our ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship podium finishers.
It is primarily a team-sport based on two persons travelling through nature and time, completely dependent on each other. The racers alternate between running and swimming along a pre-marked course in nature; it can be between islands or between lakes. It becomes a seamless motion. As a team you race within 10 metres of each other, you share the experience, the fun, the beauty and the suffering. Swimrun is a new dimension!
HOW IT BEGAN
In 2002 Anders Malm, one of the owners of Utö Värdshus (the finish line hotel of ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship), his friend Janne Lindberg and some of his staff (the Andersson brothers) had a late night in the bar. They challenged each other – “Last team of two to Sandhamn pays for hotel, dinner and drinks”. Two teams of two started the next morning with the only rule being that they had to pass the three different restaurants on the islands between the start and the finish. The last team at the restaurant had to drink and pay what the team ahead of them had ordered for them. It took them more than 24 hours and they were too tired to party on arrival. They tried again the year after with the same result. We call them the Original 4.
In 2006 Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott were asked if they could make a commercial race out of their crazy challenge. They called the race ÖTILLÖ (island to island in Swedish). The first couple of years only 11 teams started and only two managed to finish within the time limits. Then something happened and the teams learned that the only way to race was by not stopping, with constant movement.
In 2015, in ÖTILLÖ’S 10th anniversary year, Tridem Sports AG stepped in and created a joint company, Swimrun AG to manage and finance the growth of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun on a world-wide level.
Today the race is internationally recognized as the SWIMRUN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and has been ranked by CNN as one of the toughest races in the World.
The sport of Swimrun was born!
ÖTILLÖ IS SWIMRUN
ÖTILLÖ is the origin of Swimrun, an endurance sport driven by the desire to expand your boundaries. Swimrun is about experiencing nature in the purest possible way, with respect for yourself, for your team partner, for others and for the environment.
ÖTILLÖ is the premium brand in Swimrun providing races of the highest quality which challenge your mental and physical endurance. We are dedicated to recreate the ÖTILLÖ experience in unique places around the world and to inspire the growth of the Swimrun community.
The spirit of Swimrun is based on teamwork, motivation, fun and passion. We want to bring you all of these emotions, we want to challenge you and we want to give you a fantastic adventure.
On this site you will find all information regarding the ÖTILLÖ races including ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship. You will also find information relevant to the sport of Swimrun.
We want to be part of conserving the nature we are in and we want to give back to those less fortunate.
Welcome to ÖTILLÖ.