ÖTILLÖ the Swimrun World Championship Race Report 2026

The 20th edition of ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship, is officially in the books, and by every account we heard on the course, it was the hardest one yet. A headwind held on for the entire day, a proper pig swim tossed us around, Chipper's hip flexors locked up mid-swim, and cramping hit Chipper hard a few miles out from Ornö. We still found a way to cross the finish line in 11 hours and 5 minutes, our third time completing this race.

Before any of that, we linked up with our sponsor Precision Fuel & Hydration at their UK headquarters, toured their performance lab, and ran some testing in our wetsuits to see what happens to our sweat rate during a race. From there it was on to Stockholm for our annual fika (this one drew about 80 people), Sweden's first ever social swimrun celebrating the race's 20th anniversary, and a wave of wetsuit troubles right before the start.

We break down the whole day: the wetsuit drama, the toughest conditions since the legendary 2017 race, the pig swim, the hip flexor lockup, our fueling mistakes, a low point on the run through Ornö and the conversation that pulled us out of it, and the cramping that hit Chipper on the approach to Ornö.

We also cover some of the bigger stories from the day, including a medical emergency on course and standout finishes from Hugo Tormento and Adriel Young and Team Wild Vermamas.

This episode is brought to you by Precision Fuel & Hydration. We spent time at their performance lab getting new data on our own hydration and sweat rates, and you can check out their site for free education on fueling and hydration for endurance events.

00:00 Intro
00:01:00 Sponsor shoutout and the PF&H side quest
00:03:00 Post-race hobbling and the trip to Sweden
00:04:00 Hosting fika for 80 people
00:05:00 The first ever social swimrun and 20th anniversary celebration
00:07:00 Wetsuit drama begins
00:09:00 Packet pickup and the pre-race scene
00:10:00 Gear talk
00:13:00 Nutrition setup and the Naked belt
00:15:00 Race morning routine
00:17:00 The hardest conditions ever, headwind vs the 2017 tailwind
00:20:00 Staying present, race philosophy
00:22:00 Start corral and TV4 coverage
00:23:00 Race start and the first swim
00:26:00 First island and transitions
00:29:00 Fueling logistics on technical terrain
00:31:00 Runmarö and the first aid station
00:36:00 Approaching the pig swim
00:38:00 The pig swim
00:42:00 Hip flexor lockup in the water
00:44:00 Post-pig-swim islands and getting cold
00:46:00 The run through Ornö
00:49:00 Discovering the fueling shortfall
00:51:00 A mental low point
00:53:00 The tow rope and snapping out of it
00:55:00 Cramping sets in for Chipper
00:58:00 Passing teams on the way to Utö
01:00:00 Heartbreak Hill
01:01:00 Finishing in 11:05
01:02:00 Course details and a medical emergency on course
01:04:00 Standout results
01:05:00 The ferry ride back to Stockholm
01:06:00 Final thoughts and thanking family
01:08:00 Wrap up

.youtube.com/@lowtideboyz
Instagram: instagram.com/lowtideboyz
Website: lowtideboyz.com