Jesper Svensson

Former SwimRun World Champion Jesper Svensson has showcased elite endurance abilities on the middle and long-distance circuits, making him one of the premier triathletes to come out of Sweden in recent times.

‘Jeppe’ suffered an unfortunate incident in one of his early races in 2015. New to the sport, he suffered a puncture during the bike stage of a middle-distance race. But he fought to end, realised he had a talent for triathlon, and it soon became his sole focus.

When Svensson won that 2017 ÖTILLÖ SwimRun World Championships, his performance in the event attracted the attention of acclaimed multisport coach Frank Jakobsen. Together they focused on improving his bike work to match his excellent swim and run disciplines.

2018 was a breakthrough year for the Swede as he won the National Middle-Distance Triathlon on home soil, before earning wins on the IRONMAN circuit at Brazil and Barcelona. Both were races he won by leading from start to finish.

A year later ‘Jeppe’ claimed a superb second in a strong field at his favourite race Challenge Roth, and competed in his first World Championship at Kona, Hawaii, finishing in 37th place.

His favourite discipline is surprisingly the bike, as he says it is still so new that he enjoys it. His least favourite is the swim as he suggests he is only getting slower in the water.

Jesper’s pre-race routine consists of a hard training session three days before a race, eating well and ensuring his body is at the peak of fitness.

Svensson’s advice to budding triathlete is “start slowly, build up your miles and listen to your body when it comes to increasing your training”.

On raceday meanwhile, his go-to advice is: “Just go for it. If you are too scared of the pain you will not reach your goals”.