A GREAT BIG ADVENTURE
- Sabina Rapelli
- Sep 9
- 7 min read
Coming from a gymnastics background, starting swimrun in 2018, through the initial encounter with Alexis, all the way to breaking the Ötillö World Championship record in the women's category... it has been an incredible adventure!
In 2018, at the Ötillö World Championship, I found myself on the start line with Cassandra Eliasson. Cassandra joined at the last minute because my friend Stefania got injured three weeks before the race. I had no option but to find a new partner, as giving up and not completing our project for this race was not an option for me. Cassandra is a Swedish athlete from southern Sweden, with a background in long-distance swimming races. We met the day before the race at a well-known swimming pool in central Stockholm, as it was the only place where we could try the rope before the race! Our communication was quite amusing since Cassandra doesn't speak English, and we were understanding each other through gestures. It was the first Ötillö World Championship for both of us, and we were thrilled to be there!
The day after we finished the race, first time for both, first long race for both. We finished the race in 10h30min. It was one of the most beautiful moments I have experienced in swimrun.
It was incredible to race together after meeting just a few hours before the event and communicating solely through gestures. I will always be thankful to Cassandra for agreeing to race with someone she didn't know and for pushing herself beyond her limits, trusting me from the start.
After this race a lot has happened in my life. First of all, I met Nicolas Remires who pushed me to join Team Envol. I was so inspired by all the strong women in this team: Desiree, Anna, Fanny, Susie, Diane. I was eager to challenge myself and to learn a lot from them. I knew that the journey would be long but I wanted to give it a try.
Nicolas asked if I wanted to compete with a French guy named Alexis, who had joined Envol at the same time as I did. I agreed, and Alexis and I stayed in contact to get to know each other until we decided to participate in our first race together in the South of France (swimrun Esterel). We met for the first time the evening before the race, and on race day, we won. We then decided to compete together for the entire season with a primary goal: qualifying for the world championship in September.
That year, we started dating, qualified for Ötillö, and completed the World Championship together in 9 hours and 23 minutes, finishing in 4th place just a few minutes away from the podium.
I recall that year the mixed category was exceptionally strong, with many outstanding teams at the starting line. We understood that making it into the top 10 would already be a significant accomplishment... but securing 4th place far exceeded our expectations.
For two years we pushed ourselves to improve, we knew that with a lots of work we could maybe reach higher results in this sport. We worked hard to reduce the gap between us and the others teams.
For two years we worked hard to improve our level, understanding that with significant effort, we might achieve better results in this sport. We put in a lot of hard work to narrow the gap between us and the other teams.
We claimed our first World Series victory in Catalina in 2020, just before the world came to a halt due to Covid.
We returned to Ötillö in 2021 and secured second place (6th overall) with a time of 8h32min36s, despite having only 3 paddles after I lost mine during the first swim. We became silver medalists, finishing behind our friends and teammates Desiree and Victor.
Following this result, it would have been simple to stop, but we were striving for more at that time and chose to return in 2022 to attempt to win the race or secure another podium finish. In 2022, the competition was once again fierce, and we understood that just making it to the podium would be a significant accomplishment for us. We ended up as the 3rd mixed team with an impressive time of 8h08"39, which was among the best in the mixed category at that time.
Between 2022 and 2023, we worked with various partners and also chose to embark on a house renovation project. The house required significant time, and balancing our jobs, the renovation work, and training was certainly challenging. However, I believe that if you have a goal in mind and are determined to achieve it, you can overcome even the biggest obstacles and continue your journey, regardless of how difficult it may be.
In 2023, Alexis was inspired to compete in the men's category, so he registered for the race with his friend William Even. My experience was different. I had been searching for a partner since the start of the year, but received no responses until June 2023. After winning Ötillö Utö with Eugenie Plane, she agreed to race with me a few days later. Around the same time, I also heard back from Desiree. It was a challenging moment because I went from having no partner to having two!
I chose to team up with Eugenie because we had been considering racing together for a quite some time (until June, she had planned to race with her boyfriend Matthieu in the mixed category). However, turning down Desiree was very difficult for me. Desiree has been my inspiration from the very beginning in swimrun, and competing in the world championship with her was one of my biggest dreams. I feared this might be my only opportunity to race with her. I truly hoped that Desiree would understand my situation and would be willing to give me another chance in the future.
The race was truly a nightmare for me. While Eugenie was very strong, I struggled. From the end of the third swim to the finish line, I suffered from stomach problems. I attempted to eat, but it was impossible. I gave it my all to complete the race for Eugenie's sake, as we had worked hard together and deserved a spot on the podium. We finished in third place behind the strong teams of Anna & Desiree, and Ulrika & Hanna. It was the first time in swimrun history that three women's teams completed this race in under 9 hours.
For Alexis, the race had a different ending but a similar problem. Alexis and William had to step out of the race in the last 10 km. Alexis had stomach problems, making it impossible to finish the race. It was a huge disappointment for them.
The months after this race Alexis struggled to come back to his level. It took him a few months to be able to forget the disappointment of Ötillö.
The year 2024 was a blast as Desiree offered me a second chance, and we chose to compete together in the World Championship. The race was intense, with high winds, cold temperatures, and a strong current. We struggled a lot. It was the toughest Ötillö I've ever participated in. Our aim was to break the women's course record, but the challenging weather conditions made it impossible to achieve that goal.
We won the race, achieving my greatest dream in this sport: to win alongside Desiree, a friend and, most importantly, the woman who motivated me to improve every single day!
This moment will always be unforgettable for me, especially since Alexis, who teamed up with Matthieu at the last minute due to Eugenie's injury, won the overall race in the men's category. Winning this race together was a happy ending to the incredible adventure we embarked on together in 2019!
Naturally, the goal of setting the course record lingered in my mind for quite some time. Desiree and I intended to attempt it again, but in the months after the race, she was proposed a spot in a team (and what an impressive team!) for the One Water Race, a 250 km swimrun orienteering event in the Swedish archipelago. She faced a tough decision: accept the OWR opportunity or embark on a new project with me for Ötillö.
In the end, she chose to accept the OWR proposal, so I had to make my own decision. Initially, I thought I would wait to see how she felt after OWR, but I was also convinced that it wasn't a good idea for her body to handle both races only 10 days apart. It could be dangerous and stressful for her to have both races on her mind. Desiree and I agreed that I should find someone motivated to aim for the course record—Anna was present during our conversation. She told me, "I might be motivated to start training in swimming again if our goal is to try to beat this record." I couldn't be happier to have a friend and athlete like Anna with me on this journey!
During our training week with Victor and Alexis this summer, we pushed ourselves hard. We had an great race plan and followed it without mistakes. Crossing the finish line in 8h24"01, we finished first in the women's category and set a new women's record—it was exhilarating! Alexis and Victor also performed very well, finishing as the 4th men's team with an impressive time of 7h27min. They should be very proud; the top 4 men's teams finished under 7h30min, beating the second fastest time ever!
We did it! It is still hard for me to believe when I look back at where I started. It has truly been a Great Big Adventure and I hope it will continue with plenty of big goals and victories in the future!
There is still one dream left: to win the Ötillö World Championship with Alexis...
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