Qualifying for ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship

Updated for 2024!

The original Swimrun race and most well-known is ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship. The race will test every part of your endurance with a whopping 46+ miles of racing, including 40+ miles (65km) of trail running and nearly 6 miles (9.5km) of rough water ocean swimming while racing point-to-point from Sandhamn to Utö crossing 24 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. Once you get into ÖTILLÖ be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to ÖTILLÖ.

There are a total of 160 team spots available for qualification for ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship. The race is held on the first Monday in September every year.

Things that are the same as in year’s past:

  • Registration window from January 1st through the 25th.

  • A total of 160 team spots available

  • All podium teams from ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship from the previous year (9 spots) (Only for the same team constellation as on the podium)

  • Race Directors choice (10 spots) that are used at the Race Director’s discretion throughout the year for sponsors, media and special circumstances.

Things that are a different/new:

  • There is no longer going to be Direct qualification for the World Championship. (Used to be that podium finishers at World Series events would get slots. That is no more.)

  • The Swimrun Ranking system has been revamped and “simplified” and uses a new point system:

    • Team members collect individual points

    • Team members collect points from January to December by finishing in the Top 30 of each category (men/women/mixed) at an ÖTILLÖ World Series or an ÖTILLÖ Merit Race TEAM event. The winning teams will earn a maximum of 60 points (ÖTILLÖ World Series) and 30 points (ÖTILLÖ Merit Race) per athlete.

    • At the beginning of the year, every athlete in the ranking has the chance to apply with a team partner of their choice. ÖTILLO will then add all accumulated points of both partners and create its ÖTILLÖ qualification list, which will be the basis for the invitation to participate at The Swimrun World Championship.

How Does the New Point System Work:

  • The Top 30 teams that finish a race in each category (Men/ Mixed/ Women) at ÖTILLÖ World Series events and ÖTILLÖ Merit Races get ranking points.

  • With these points you can apply for Ranking selection at ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship.

  • All athletes in the ranking will be provided with an invitation to apply for a spot with a partner of their choice that also has collected ranking points in 2023. The two individual rankings will then be added together and will lead to a team ranking for the qualification of ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship 2024.

  • Applications based on Swimrun Rankings take place from January 1st-25th with the announcement of teams taking place on Swimrun Christmas, a.k.a., The first Thursday in February. (Feb. 1 in 2024)

The points are distributed based on the following criteria:

  • Racers get individual ranking points at all ÖTILLÖ World Series team events and ÖTILLÖ Merit Races (long distance only) from January 1st to December 31st (calendar year). 

  • No points for Solo category racers!

  • Ranking points will be awarded to Top 30 finishers of ÖTILLÖ World Series (WS) and ÖTILLÖ Merit Races (MR) in each category (Men/ Mixed/ Women)

  • Points for ÖTILLÖ World Series Races (WS): 60 for winning team/ athlete

  • Points for ÖTILLÖ Merit Races (MR): 30 for winning team / athlete

  • At WS races points are allocated ranks 1-30 with 2 points difference to the next placed team (1st: 60 pts, 2nd: 58 pts etc.)

  • At MR races points are allocated ranks 1-30 with 1 point difference to the next placed team (1st: 30 pts, 2nd: 29 pts etc.)

Confirmed ÖTILLÖ Events for 2024:

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö - June 8th

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin - June 29th

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Mackinac - June or July TBC

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Gothenburg - August 3rd

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Casco Bay - August 11th

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Sprint Final 15k August 31st

ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship - September 2nd

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Orcas Island - September 15th

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Cannes - October 12th

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Pace Bend Park - November 3rd

For more Swimrun races in the US be sure to check out our Swimrun race page.

How much does it cost?

Race Entry Fee: 15,900 Swedish Krona (SEK) or about $1,538 per team

Fee includes the following:

  • Transport from Stockholm City to Pre- Race Hotel (Sunday)

  • Hotel accommodation (Sunday)

  • Dinner (Sunday)

  • Breakfast (Monday)

  • Transport to Start (Monday)

  • Race (Monday)

  • Transport of bags to Finish (Monday)

  • Dinner Utö (Monday)

  • Accommodation at Utö or Monday Night Transport to Stockholm (Monday)

  • Breakfast at Utö (Tuesday)

  • Ferry transport to Stockholm City (Tuesday)

We hope this has demystified the process a bit and wish everyone the best of luck if racing from Sandhamn to Utö is on your bucket list of activities.