 Highlights of the 2026 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship |
| Hugo Tormento and Adriel Young celebrate a dominant victory, Johanne Laizeau and Mélisande Muller win in style, and the Mixed title is decided in a tough battle on Ornö. Sandhamn to Utö, Stockholm Archipelago. Slightly overcast and windy conditions with strong currents created tough conditions for the almost 400 racers from 24 nations who participated in this year’s ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in the Stockholm archipelago. The water temperature was around 17 degrees, with the air temperature starting at 13 degrees in the morning and rising to 17 degrees during the day. The World Championship course is a very challenging race from the island of Sandhamn to the island of Utö, 70 kilometers across the Stockholm archipelago. Participants have to cross 24 islands, in total they complete 61 km of trail running and 9 km of open water swimming. |
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| Men Hugo Tormento and Adriel Young took the title in 7:18:32, completing a redemption after finishing runner-up together at last year’s Championship. The pair were locked in a head-to-head battle with Arnaud and Pierre de Lustrac for the first 20km of the race before opening a gap. Once clear, Tormento and Young never looked back, extending their lead all the way to the finish line. It was Adriel Young’s fifth World Championship title, making him the most successful male athlete at the World Championship ever. For Hugo Tormento, who holds the course record on the World Championship course, it was the third title. Matthieu Poullain — the 2024 champion, racing this year with his brother Guillaume rather than his title-winning partner, crossed the line second, 49:59 behind. Daniel Adams-Ray and Daniel Hansson completed the podium with a very strong second half of the race, when many others were struggling, finishing 1:05:05 back. 1. Hugo Tormento (NCL) & Adriel Young (AUS) — 7:18:32 2. Matthieu Poullain (FRA) & Guillaume Poullain (FRA) — 8:08:31 3. Daniel Adams-Ray (SWE) & Daniel Hansson (SWE) — 8:23:38 |
| Statement Hugo Tormento I am really happy with this new title and it is having a special taste as this year we were racing as three and not two, because Max* was in our thoughts all the way. I think it is what swimrun is all about, being friends and meeting friends and creating unforgettable memories. *in reference to Max Andersson, his former teammate, who died in an avalanche accident earlier this year. Statement Adriel Young We had a good day, obviously. For me, it was really tough, when I got to Ornö the wheels fell off, and Hugo dragged me to the finish, which is the best part about this sport because you’re always two, and you have someone to help you out there. Our game plan was to never look back today because we’ve been stressed at other races this year, when we’re looking back all the time. So we just held that, and sometimes it’s so tempting to look back, but we reminded each other all day: Don’t look back. Don’t look back. And I think it really paid off that we didn’t stress and just raced our own race. |
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| Women Johanne Laizeau and Mélisande Muller were dominant from the start, taking an early lead and holding it wire-to-wire for the win in 9:06:47 — confirming their strong performance together recently at ÖTILLÖ Åland. Amanda Martin and Fiona Larsen fought hard in the closing stages but could not quite bridge the gap, finishing second, 11:53 behind. Heidi Hyvärinen and Heini Hartikainen from Finland were strong throughout for third place, 22:30 back. 1. Johanne Laizeau (FRA) & Mélisande Muller (FRA) — 9:06:47 2. Amanda Martin (USA) & Fiona Larsen (GBR) — 9:18:41 3. Heidi Hyvärinen (FIN) & Heini Hartikainen (FIN) — 9:29:17 |
| Statement Johanne Laizeau We are really happy about our race today. We lead the women’s race from the beginning to the end with an ever increasing lead. The last swim sessions were really difficult, but it was nice for us because we were really strong today in the swim sections. It was a little bit hard on Ornö, but it’s always hard on Ornö! But after that we found the energy to finish the race well and we are incredibly happy about this win. Statement Mélisande Muller It was a perfect day and a very well organized race as always! |
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| Mixed The Mixed category produced the closest racing of the day. The top two teams — and the three chasing them — ran within sight of each other all the way to the long run on Ornö, where the race finally split apart and the podium was decided. Alexis Charrier and Anna Hellström emerged from that battle to take the title in 7:58:09, building on their win at Gothenburg earlier this season. Lydie Waucquier and Tom Ralite pushed them all the way, finishing just 4:45 back on their very first race together as a pair. Hanna and Johan Skårbratt, last year’s champions, rounded out the podium in third, 19:43 behind. 1. Alexis Charrier (FRA) & Anna Hellström (SWE) — 7:58:09 2. Lydie Waucquier (FRA) & Tom Ralite (FRA) — 8:02:54 3. Hanna Skårbratt (SWE) & Johan Skårbratt (SWE) — 8:17:52 |
| Statement Alexis Charrier I think we had a really, really good day today with Anna. Very tough weather. A lot of waves, probably one of the hardest pig swims that we’ve ever done, but we kept our own pace and kept encouraging ourselves. And, at the end, we did it. Statement Anna Hellström Plus one! I just followed Alexis, but I had to dig deep on Ornö. But it turned out that we did our own race, and that was a smart choice. |
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| Race Results ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship Men Hugo Tormento (NCL) & Adriel Young (AUS) — 7:18:32 Matthieu Poullain (FRA) & Guillaume Poullain (FRA) — 8:08:31 Daniel Adams-Ray (SWE) & Daniel Hansson (SWE) — 8:23:38 Women Johanne Laizeau (FRA) & Mélisande Muller (FRA) — 9:06:47 Amanda Martin (USA) & Fiona Larsen (GBR) — 9:18:41 Heidi Hyvärinen (FIN) & Heini Hartikainen (FIN) — 9:29:17 Mixed Alexis Charrier (FRA) & Anna Hellström (SWE) — 7:58:09 Lydie Waucquier (FRA) & Tom Ralite (FRA) — 8:02:54 Hanna Skårbratt (SWE) & Johan Skårbratt (SWE) — 8:17:52 Find all official results here. Photos for free media use: official images (please credit photographer/ ÖTILLÖ) |
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| Text Credits: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2026 Photo Credits: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2026 Video Credits: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2026 |