Ötillö Utö Sprint 2024

Ötillö swimrun race directors have an interesting definition of sprinting, but that aside, I do like the distance. The Utö Sweden sprint course is 16.7km long with 2800m of swimming and 13900m of running. The course is stunning. If you haven’t been to the island of Utö and the birthplace of swimrun, you simply must.

Niklas Lindskog and I won the race back in 2022 in a time of 02:20:08. We put our surprise win down to the freezing temperatures and the fact that the whippets got hypothermic. When I say surprise, we had no idea that we were in the lead when we crossed the line! In 2023 we missed it, but this last weekend we were back with no expectations apart from having a great swimrun adventure together.

We arrived the evening before. Dinner and drinks at Danneskrog with Ingela and Åsa (Women’s Team First Place!) and then we helped @vivobarefoot @foodfitnessflora and @envolswimrun with some media content before bunking down at the hostel.

There were 48 teams and 60 solo competitors in the Sprint distance event. Our race goal was not to start too hard and to find a flow state over the islands, I think we succeeded with the second point. On the first 550m run it is hard not to get excited!

Niklas set the tempo on the swims and I drafted. We decided not to use a tether. We are very similar-paced pull/paddle swimmers and I prefer swimming without a line, I feel we get a better flow through the transitions. We exited the water in third place alongside super-swimmer soloist and good friend Anders Nyberg with Barnaby Kempster just in front and Fanny already in the trees.

It pretty much stayed that way until former professional athlete and Ultraman Hawaii Champion Gordo Bryn and his son came past us before Rästavik. In the end, one men’s team and two solo swimrunners had better scratch times:

• 1st Fanny Ahlfors 1hr58m58s [Female Solo]

• 2nd Barnaby Kempster 2hrs4m32s (4% slower than first) [Men Solo]

• 3rd The Bryns 2hrs6m49s (6% slower than first) [Men Team]

• 4th Tom & Niklas 2hrs7m27s (7% slower than first) [Men Team]

The breakdown by timed segment is below:

First Segment from the start to Utö Guest Harbor (energy). Five runs totaling 4050m and four swims totaling 1250m.

• 1st Fanny Ahlfors 38m46s

• 2nd Barnaby Kempster 40m37s (5% slower)

• 3rd Tom & Niklas 40m46s (5% slower)

• 4th The Bryns 42m25s (9% slower)

The second segment is from Utö Guest Harbor to Rästavik. One run totaling 4100m and one swim totaling 400m.

• 1st Fanny Ahlfors 26m33s

• 2nd The Bryns 27m51s (5% slower)

• 3rd Barnaby Kempster 28m25s (7% slower)

• 4th Tom & Niklas 29m44s (11% slower)

The third segment is from Rästavik to Utö Norra (energy). Three runs totaling 2900m and two swims totaling 750m.

• 1st Fanny Ahlfors 31m14s

• 2nd Barnaby Kempster 32m42s (4% slower)

• 3rd Tom & Niklas 32m42s (4% slower)

• 4th The Bryns 33m15s (6% slower)

Fourth segment from Utö Norra to Finish

• 1st Fanny Ahlfors 22m25s

• 2nd Barnaby Kempster 22m48s (2% slower)

• 3rd Tom & Niklas 23m42s (5% slower)

• 4th The Bryns 23m51s (6% slower)

It looks like we lost it on the second segment. We’d come together with Anders, I think we relaxed and just let our feet off the gas a little too much. You live and learn. We could also polish some of the transitions (especially me) and we can learn from one another’s strengths (my flat speed and Niklas’ technical trail skills).

Niklas and I swimrun the Wednesday sessions on Kärsön (Stockholm) and swim train at Bromma Swim Club. We were put together by fate for the 2021 ÖtillÖ World Champs when my son Max got injured during the Utö World Series race in our penultimate event before the big dance. If you are interested in the story of that odyssey read the posts <here>. Niklas is a perfect match. So I’ve been thinking about our own Sub 2 Project next year. In the last three years, only 6 people have done it, including only one team.

• 2022 Johan Jönsson 1:53:45 [Solo Men]

• 2023 Ted Ås 1:57:00 [Solo Men]

• 2023 Combat MS - Erik Lindgren & David Lindberg 1:57:56  [Team Men]

• 2023 Hauk Are Fjeld 1:58:03 [Solo Men]

• 2024 Fanny Ahlfors 1:58:58 [Solo Women]

Not a bad objective for a pair of old bastards! What do you think Niklas, are you in? After all, your goals should scare you a little and excite you a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s very little hubris about our level of performance - there are plenty of swimrunners that could beat us. What I find motivating is not the podium, but the fact that even at a combined age of 106 years young, we can still find ways to improve. You can have one eye on the competition but the real opponent is the person you were yesterday.

Great performances from Team Envol; our little chapter @westsideswimrunners, and the other members of Bromma Swim Club, plus my mates from Stockholm City Triathlon. Fantastic to see friendly faces, both competitors and supporters. The swimrun community is truly unique. If you are out near Kärsön on a Wednesday evening come and swimrun with us. And don’t forget to bring fika (coffee and cakes). 

Stay Wet!