"Dallas Seavey, a third-generation Iditarod musher, became the youngest champion in race history Tuesday.
Seavey, 25, reached the finish line in Nome at 7:29 p.m. to win the 975-mile race that began March 3 in Anchorage.
Kicking all the way down Front Street, Seavey arrived behind a team of nine dogs. He crossed under the burled arch to cheers from the crowd and hugs from family and friends. Then he walked the length of his team, stopping to give each dog a pet and a snack.
"I'm just going to say hi to these guys real quick," Seavey said. "These nine dogs, they got me here. They mean the world to me, these guys."
Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Seavey's chief competition, captured second place. She reached Nome at 8:29 p.m.
Hard-charging Ramey Smyth of Willow, who was once in 30th place, well off the lead pack, claimed third place at 9:04 p.m.
Seavey, his face red from windburn, said the final 30 miles of the race was a test.
"I got to see a lot of wind," he told race announcers as he traveled the final few hundred yards to the finish line. "It's a tough way to finish the race, but it makes us appreciate how tough the Iditarod is and why it's the Last Great Race on Earth."
His time was 9 days, 4 hours, 29 minutes, 26 seconds, the seventh-fastest time recorded on the race's northern route. Zirkle's was the eighth-fastest.
Not all of Seavey's family greeted him at the finish line. His dad and his grandfather are still on the trail.
"It's kind of what we do, I think," Dallas said of the family's Iditarod tradition and commitment to sled dogs. "That's one of the things that means most to me about this finish and just being here now, what the Iditarod has meant to my life."
His victory makes the Seaveys the second family with two generations of Iditarod champions, joining the Mackeys. Dick Mackey, the 1978 champion, is the dad of 1983 champion Rick and four-time winner Lance.
A former high school and USA Wrestling champion, Seavey helped his dogs by capitalizing on his own superb athleticism, sometimes jogging alongside the sled, sometimes poling while on the runners.
Seavey will pocket $50,400 in prize money and the keys to a new truck from Anchorage Chrysler Dodge.
"Unfortunately, most of it is already spent on dog food," he said.
Dog food, and diapers, he added. Seavey and wife Jen are the parents of a 1-year-old daughter, Annie.
Seavey, who in 2005 became the youngest musher to enter the Iditarod and who last year became the youngest musher to win the thousand-mile Yukon Quest, is now the youngest musher to win the Iditarod.
He said an Iditarod championship became his goal when he started racing competitively in 2009.
"You put your mind to something. You do it heart, body and soul, no limits. Good things will happen," he said. "And here we are."
Seavey, 25, reached the finish line in Nome at 7:29 p.m. to win the 975-mile race that began March 3 in Anchorage.
Kicking all the way down Front Street, Seavey arrived behind a team of nine dogs. He crossed under the burled arch to cheers from the crowd and hugs from family and friends. Then he walked the length of his team, stopping to give each dog a pet and a snack.
"I'm just going to say hi to these guys real quick," Seavey said. "These nine dogs, they got me here. They mean the world to me, these guys."
Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Seavey's chief competition, captured second place. She reached Nome at 8:29 p.m.
Hard-charging Ramey Smyth of Willow, who was once in 30th place, well off the lead pack, claimed third place at 9:04 p.m.
Seavey, his face red from windburn, said the final 30 miles of the race was a test.
"I got to see a lot of wind," he told race announcers as he traveled the final few hundred yards to the finish line. "It's a tough way to finish the race, but it makes us appreciate how tough the Iditarod is and why it's the Last Great Race on Earth."
His time was 9 days, 4 hours, 29 minutes, 26 seconds, the seventh-fastest time recorded on the race's northern route. Zirkle's was the eighth-fastest.
Not all of Seavey's family greeted him at the finish line. His dad and his grandfather are still on the trail.
"It's kind of what we do, I think," Dallas said of the family's Iditarod tradition and commitment to sled dogs. "That's one of the things that means most to me about this finish and just being here now, what the Iditarod has meant to my life."
His victory makes the Seaveys the second family with two generations of Iditarod champions, joining the Mackeys. Dick Mackey, the 1978 champion, is the dad of 1983 champion Rick and four-time winner Lance.
A former high school and USA Wrestling champion, Seavey helped his dogs by capitalizing on his own superb athleticism, sometimes jogging alongside the sled, sometimes poling while on the runners.
Seavey will pocket $50,400 in prize money and the keys to a new truck from Anchorage Chrysler Dodge.
"Unfortunately, most of it is already spent on dog food," he said.
Dog food, and diapers, he added. Seavey and wife Jen are the parents of a 1-year-old daughter, Annie.
Seavey, who in 2005 became the youngest musher to enter the Iditarod and who last year became the youngest musher to win the thousand-mile Yukon Quest, is now the youngest musher to win the Iditarod.
He said an Iditarod championship became his goal when he started racing competitively in 2009.
"You put your mind to something. You do it heart, body and soul, no limits. Good things will happen," he said. "And here we are."
This Iditarod has been fun to follow only because we have supported the Seaveys' since we moved to Alaska by going on their summer sled dog tours multiple times. And it was fun to get called MULTIPLE times by Diana asking me if I was stressing as much as she was :) She was so into it and I felt bad she was the "only one in Tremonton following it" Next year it is our goal to get her up here. I loved watching and following the GPS trackers and I look forward to next year. I'm an Iditarod follower for life!!!!
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