King Wins!

Three-time Iditarod champion Jeff King became four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King today as he crossed the finish line in Nome after nine days, 11 hours, and 11 minutes. He reached the town on the Bering Sea coast shortly after 1am local time, coving the final 77-mile leg from Safety in just over three hours. For being the first to complete the grueling 1,100 mile journey, King receives a new Dodge Ram pickup truck, a prize purse of $69,000, and (we hope) a nice a long nap.

But while King is the first to reach the finish line, the race is still going strong. Doug Swingley was the second musher out of Safety, followed a couple hours later by Paul Gebhardt. DeeDee Jonrowe, John Baker, and Bjørnar Andersen all left White Mountain within a span of an hour and a half, so the remaining places in the top five are still very much up for grabs. Ben Valks of Holland, meanwhile, is still struggling along in last place, having reached the checkpoint at Galena, a little more than halfway along the trail.

We’ll continue to keep you posted as mushers reach Nome, but we can’t help but feel a little sad because the end of another Iditarod has come and it’ll be a long 350 some odd days until The Last Great Race starts again.

Ben Valks, Bjørnar Andersen, DeeDee Jonrowe, Doug Swingley, Jeff King, John Baker, Paul Gebhardt King Wins! and related information can be found in Iditarod