March 12, 2021 Athletes using fluorocarbon free SWIX PRO Dominate Competition Podium
Athletes using SWIX’s PRO non-fluorinated wax system claimed 11 out of 12 podium spots in the 2021 American Birkebeiner’s Elite race category.
SWIX swept both the men’s and women’s skate podium on Saturday, February 27, as well as Sunday’s Women’s classic podium. Athletes using the premier non-fluorinated race wax system placed first and third in the Elite Men’s Classic race, too.
The new fluoro-free Swix wax technology is available in three lines: PRO Performance Speed (PS), PRO High Speed (HS) and PRO Top Speed (TS), which correlate to the previous CH, LF and HF lines respectively, and include both solid and liquid waxes. The wax ingredients are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and comply with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). They are completely free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS.
“We couldn’t have asked for a much better result,” proclaims Evan Pengelly, SWIX US’s Nordic Racing Service Director, who continues:
“We’ve had high confidence in the PRO system all along, and have seen results at the international level, but sweeping nearly all of the podium spots in the Birkie is icing on the cake.”
About SWIX PRO and PFAS
Some PFAS can persist in the environment for long periods of time and cause adverse health effects.
More than a decade ago, BRAV, the parent company of Swix, began investing in better chemistry for ski waxes through its Future CERA project. Over the next 10 years, the company spent millions of dollars in research to move ski wax technology from long-chain PFAS to more environmentally sensible short-chain PFAS. Researchers next turned to creating high-performance waxes free of PFAS.
In early 2020, Future CERA met with success. The Swix Pro line is the result.
Photo: American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation
