Veteran Iditarod musher Dallas Seavey wins his fifth Iditarod championship

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Crossing the finish line in Deshka Landing, Dallas Seavey has won his fifth Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race championship, matching the record of most wins by any musher.

The veteran musher, bib number 23, arrived at Deshka Landing at 5:08 a.m. Monday. Seavey had 10 dogs in harness at the end of the race, 7 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes and 57 seconds after starting the race.

This win comes after he skipped the past three races.

Dallas’ run in 2021 was his first go at the race since 2017 — the year when several of his dogs tested positive for a banned substance. In 2018, the Iditarod Trail Committee said they did not believe Seavey had any involvement or knowledge of the events that led to the positive drug test in four of his dogs.

This year, Seavey stayed toward the top of the leaderboard for a majority of the race. His determination helped him win four awards along the trail: the Northrim Bank Achieve More Award, Ryan Air Gold Coast Award, First Musher to the Yukon Award and Alaska Air Transit Spirit of Iditarod Award.

Seavey is a third-generation musher. He follows in the footsteps of his dad Mitch Seavey, who has won the race three times. In 2005, Seavey became the youngest musher in history to run the Iditarod. In 2012, he became the youngest-ever Iditarod champion.

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