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Alaska Native sleds to victory in the annual Iditarod dog race

Ryan Redington becomes the sixth Alaska Native to win the world’s most prestigious dog-sledding race in Nome, Alaska.

A man holds two dogs, one under each arm, in front of a sign that reads "Iditarod sled dog race champion"
Ryan Redington celebrates his win at the 2023 Iditarod race with dogs Ghost and Sven in Nome, Alaska, on March 14 [Diana Haecker/The Nome Nugget for Reuters]
Published On 15 Mar 202315 Mar 2023
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The race took him across nearly 1,609 kilometres (1,000 miles) of barren tundra and dense spruce forests, down dizzying gorges and up snow-capped mountains.

But on Tuesday, Alaska Native Ryan Redington emerged as the winner of the 2023 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the most prestigious dog sledding tournament in the United States.

This year’s win, however, has special significance for Redington who led a six-dog pack to victory in Nome, Alaska. The 40-year-old is the grandson of Joe Redington Sr, nicknamed the “Father of the Iditarod”.

The elder Redington, who died in 1999, was a seasoned dog musher who helped champion sled dog racing at a time when the tradition was threatened by the increasing use of snowmobiles.

He and businesswoman Dorothy Page launched the first Iditarod race in 1973.

Tuesday’s winner is expected to bring home an estimated $50,000 purse, out of a total of $500,000 in prize money for the entire tournament.

The top three finishers in this year’s race were all Alaska Natives. In the final sprint, Dena’ina Athabascan sledder Richie Diehl and 2019’s winner Pete Kaiser, who is Yup’ik, joined Redington at the front of the lineup. Redington himself is Inupiat.

He becomes only the sixth Alaska Native to win the race.

The competitors faced some unexpected hurdles, however, in preparing for their dash from Anchorage to Nome. Most years average a total of 63 racers in the tournament, but this year only 33 dog mushers registered, a record low.

Some competitors cited rising inflation as a cause, with dog sledding already an expensive pastime.

And on the trail itself, competitors encountered unseasonably warm temperatures, with some Alaska communities reporting record heat. “There’s almost no places that were below freezing along the route,” Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist with the National Weather Service, told the Associated Press last week.

Not only did the toasty temperatures raise the prospect of sledding along mud and slush, but it also was taxing to the dogs, who could overheat.

But at 12:15pm Alaska time (20:00 GMT), Redington sailed across the finish line, fulfilling a childhood dream. It was his 16th attempt at the race.

“It took a lot work, took a lot of patience,” he said. “And we failed quite a few times, you know? But we kept our head up high and stuck with the dream.”

A dog sledder gives a high-five to a fan as crowds pack the snowy trail on the Iditarod
The 51st Iditarod race began on March 4 with a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. Here, dog-sled captain Riley Dyche offers a high-five to fans on the first day of the race. [Kerry Tasker/Reuters]
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A man in a brown puffer coat and thick gloves, wearing the number 14, waves to the crowd
The defending Iditarod champion Brent Sass, 43, arrives at the ceremonial start of the race in Anchorage on March 4, after nabbing the top spot in 2022 with a dramatic finish. Sass was nearing the race's end that year when blinding snow and 96-kph (60-mph) winds forced him to stop his sled. But ultimately, he proved victorious. He returned in 2023 as the anticipated frontrunner. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
Ryan Redington leads his dog team down the streets of Anchorage, as crowds watch
Ryan Redington also joined the field of 33 competitors in 2023 with a long legacy to live up to. Not only was his grandfather the race's co-founder, but his father Raymie Redington was also a 10-time competitor. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
A closeup of two dogs, one brown and one black-and-white
Despite its status as one of Alaska's premier sporting events, the Iditarod attracts its share of controversy. The animal rights nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protested the event this year, with full-page newspaper ads decrying the cruelty of forcing the dogs to race across treacherous terrain. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
A white dog puts its front paws on a woman's shoulders and gives her a big lick in the face
The race can take about nine to 10 days to complete, taking competitors from the Gulf of Alaska to the icy Bering Strait. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
A man lifts a dog and carries it across a snowy trail
Musher Richie Diehl, who is Dena’ina Athabascan, was one of several Alaska Natives participating in the event. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
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Dogs wearing blue boots race in the snow
The dogs racing in the Iditarod have to overcome two mountain ranges and the Yukon River to reach the finish line. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
An aerial view of a man on a dog sled, gesturing out to the crowd
The Iditarod trail shares its name with a ghost town located on the site of an Athabaskan village. The trail was used by Alaska Natives long before it became an avenue for sport. [Kerry Tasker/Reuters]
Defending champion Brent Sass leads a team of dogs down the snowy roads of Anchorage
Defending champion Brent Sass was in the lead when he reached the checkpoint at Eagle Island, Alaska, late Friday. But due to 'concerns with his periodontal health', he withdrew from the race over the weekend. [Mark Thiessen/AP Photo]
A white-and-black dog bounds forward in the foreground of a snowy scene, leading a pack of dogs and a man on a sled
This year's journey was complicated by warmer-than-average weather, exacerbated by climate change. [Kerry Tasker/Reuters]
A man stands on the edge of a dog sled, as his huskies pull him across the snowy race track in Nome, Alaska
Ryan Redington crosses the finish line in Nome, Alaska, on March 14, fulfilling a lifelong dream. 'I can’t believe it. It finally happened,' he told reporters. [Diana Haecker/The Nome Nugget for Reuters]
A man in a green winter coat greets fans at the Iditarod finish line
Ryan Redington, winner of the 2023 Iditarod, completed the race in eight days, 21 hours and 12:58 minutes, with his dogs Sven and Ghost leading the pack. [Diana Haecker/The Nome Nugget for Reuters]

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