SWIM THE WORLD VANSBRO, SWEDEN
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
A tiny town in central Sweden hosts one of the biggest swimming events in the world every summer. Sarah Warwick investigates why it has become one of Europe’s must-do events, and how you can take part
Even if you were told exactly where to look on a map of central Sweden, it might take you a little while to locate
the tiny town of Vansbro. And when you did, you’d be forgiven, while squinting at the dot that represents it, for wondering how this obscure place (population 2,000) has become host to one of the greatest river races – probably the greatest – of all time. Four-and-a-half hours’ drive north-west of Stockholm, the
town was little more than a wood-processing station in the woods 150 years ago. Its position at the confl uence of two rivers (the Västerdalälven and the Vanån) made it the perfect place for a sawmill, and for the transport of logs downstream to the big cities in the country’s south. Until land reclamation in the 18th century, this whole area was marshland. Aside from the swim, which is known simply as
Vansbrosimningen ("the Vansbro swim”), the place, even now, is hardly a tourist Mecca. The local tourist offi ce website lists the swim and the “world’s smallest traditional Swedish wooden horse”, held at the local art gallery, as the town’s only two highlights, while Wikipedia lists its ‘famous’ inhabitants as “cross-country skier Gunde Svan, singer/songwriter Malin Jonsson, the progressive rock band Introitus and pop-singer Björn Skifs.” Not exactly world-famous celebrities.
NEED TO KNOW
∆ Where: Vansbro in central Sweden ∆ What: 3km river swim under the six bridges of Vansbro. Other race lengths vary from 25m (for 6-9 year olds) to 10km
∆ When: 8-10 July ∆ Who: More than 12,000 swimmers ∆ How: For times, more information and entry details please see
vansbrosimningen.se
In this context it’s hardly surprising that someone starting a
river swim would capture the imagination of some (let’s face it – probably rather bored) local Swedes. What is amazing is that such a race would grow to be one of the top open water swimming events in the world. Although not quite the biggest – the annual Sun Moon Lake swim in Taiwan, with its 23,000 competitors, nudges victory – it’s up there, ranked number three on Open Water Source’s Top 100 all-time open water events. “Vansbrosimningen is at the forefront of the sport, says Åsa Larsson, one of the organisers. “It’s ever expanding. It had 12,000 competitors over seven races last year. For three days the number of people increases tenfold in Vansbro and everything revolves around swimming.” The Vanbrosimningen attracts a hardcore multi-discipline
crowd as it’s part of the En Svensk Klassiker (Swedish Classic) a diploma given to those who participate in (and fi nish) four events over the course of the Swedish sporting calendar. As well as the 3km swim, there are cross-country skiing events in March (90km); the Vätternrundan 300km cycle in June; and the Lidingöloppet 30km cross-country run in September. The beauty of this event is that it caters for everyone. Apart from the classic 3km Vanbrosimningen – there are six other
38
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68