After some years focusing on long distance triathlon, I tried a few short Swimrun races and I’m hooked. I would like to give a go at trying to qualify for the 2023 ÖtillÖ World Champs. I understand there are 2 ways to qualify:
by accumulating points throughout the calendar year in various ÖtillÖ and associated races. I understand qualifying through this method is fairly doable if you race a lot, but slots for the 2023 WC have already been awarded to teams based on their 2022 points directly at one of the ÖtillÖ events (less than 10 events per year and only a handful before the next world champs) if you finish typically top 5 of your category
I would like to know what sort of fitness level is required to qualify via method b) and if I could have a shot. I know these races are competitive, but how competitive? How would it compared to an Ironman time or 70.3? How does it compare to BQ or KQ? If you have qualified directly, what is your marathon PB or IM swim time if you think this is a relevant metric?
For reference, I am male, 34, been into LD triathlon for ~10 years. I have a 2:46 marathon PB and I swim ~1h in an Ironman. My partner has the same running level but slightly faster in the water
I would say you will be fine to qualify with those times, just have to make sure you and your partner on healthy on race day. Most of the Otillio folks swim similar to you, average swimmers who can run well. Only the very pointy end are top swimmers in the sub 53 ironman arena, so get those big paddles and practice with the buoy and shoes…
I love that format of racing too, but prefer to go solo and a bit shorter, I’m old now…
From speaking to these guys and following some events, you’ll likely be on the podium or close to it in most races you enter, and should have no problem whatsoever qualifying.
First off, welcome to SwimRun! Its a great sport and a great community.
You’re correct about the two main ways people qualify for World Champs, through a points ranking system where you earn points at different merit races or through direct qualification at an Ötillö World Series race. There are a few other ways to do it, but these involve doing all the World Series races, or getting specially selected. Actually, the Low Tide Böyz podcast that someone in this thread linked to has an episode related to this very topic. Also a plug for them, they are a great resource for all things Swimrun.
For the 2023 World Champs, the slots have not been awarded, but you have to apply sometime early next year so that is out as an option if you don’t have points.
So that would leave direct qualification. You asked about pace and conversions to BQ or triathlon times, but it generally depends on which race you’re talking about and who shows up. For instance, the race on Üto is super technical and all the good French and Swedish teams come out. That one would be very hard for direct qualification.
I wouldn’t rule you out based on those times if you have a good day at the right race. Maybe not the best gauge as my wife and I race as a mixed team, but I have a 2:51 PB marathon with a 50 minute Ironman swim, my wife is a 3:15 PB with a 53 minute Ironman swim (the only Ironman we did, but we were distance swimmers in college). We have qualified directly at the Isles of Scilly in 2019 and in Malta in 2021. Starting somewhere along the line we also started training with SwimRun as the main goal, rather than doing triathlons and throwing in a SwimRun.
I hope you give it a go, these races are really the best.
My wife and I raced this year with points qualification in 2021. That year was much easier for American teams with most of the European races being canceled, placing more weight on the US merit races. Points qualification will be harder going forward and we would have to push to qualify again (maybe give it a go in 2024).
We have pretty similar profiles. I’m a 2:39 marathoner and my wife right around 3 hrs. I usually swim right around an hour for an IM and she’s around 55-57 mins. She’s raced pro triathlon for a decade plus and is an extremely good open water swimmer in rough conditions.
Now the fun part. To me, the swim time is obviously relevant, but the run times are meaningless, especially in the more technical races. Having a trail running or ultra background is a huge asset or at least some technical skill. We regularly get crushed by teams we would run faster than in a road race due to technical ability. If you are a fast trail runner with those times, you will be very competitive. If you watch the top Swedes run on the rocks and technical trails it will blow your mind.
You’re going to get lots of very fast French and Swedish teams at all of the Otillo qualification races.
Hope you give it a go! It’s an absolute blast and Otillo is an amazing event. Blows Kona or Boston out of the water.