NOME, Alaska – A 53-year-old former champion has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska’s grueling test of endurance.
Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds at 10:39 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday.
“This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age,” he said on a live stream posted to the Iditarod website after completing the race in temperatures just above zero. His race time in the 1,000-mile race was nine days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.
Seavey’s victory came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle, last year’s runner-up, along the frozen, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast. Zirkle crossed the finish line 24 minutes after her rival, who greeted her after a while.
“You did a good job,” Seavey told Zirkle as a camera crew filmed them. “You’re going to win this thing, probably more than once.”