Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", is an American dog musher who has won the 1,049-mile Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska more times than any other competitor. He won five times, in 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1991, and is the only person to win in three separate decades. Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. ... The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually called the Iditarod and known as the Last Great Race, is an annual dog sled race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of dogs cover more than 1,000 miles (1,584 km) in less than two weeks, frequently through blizzards causing whiteout... Dogsled racing is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled, on the runners of which the dog driver or musher stands. ... A state of the United States (U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states, four of which officially favor the term commonwealth which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 1st 663,267 mi² / 1 717 854 km² 808 mi / 1300 km 1,479 mi / 2380 km 13. ...

Swenson competed in the Iditarod for the first time in 1976, placing 12th. The next year, he beat Jerry Riley by just 4 minutes and 52 seconds, and became known for close finishes. Swenson has won by less than an hour four times, and by less than five minutes twice. Between 1976 and 2005, he only missed one race (in 1997), withdrew from one other (in 1996), and only scratched once (in the 2005 Iditarod). He has completed 26 Iditarods, more than any other musher, and finished in the top 10 in all but three races. He was awarded Sportsmanship awards in 1983 and 1996, and the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian award for dog care twice, in 1992 and 2004. The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 5, 2005 at 10 AM AKST (19:00 UTC), and restarted in Willow the next day at 2 PM (23:00 UTC). ... Leonhard Seppala (September 14, 1877 – 1967) was a Norwegian of Finnish-speaking (Kven) descent who had emigrated to Alaska during the Nome gold rush of 1900 and, in 1913, inherited a team of imported Chukchi huskies, later to be known as Siberian dogs or Siberian Huskies. ...

The most controversial finish in the history of the Iditarod is his 1978 loss to Dick Mackey. Swenson believed he had won -- he personally crossed the finish line before Mackey. But Mackey had more dogs and a longer harness, and the nose of his lead dog crossed the finish line in 14 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes, and 24 seconds, one second ahead of the nose of Swenson's lead dog. Dick Mackey is a American dog musher who won the 1,049-mile Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska in 1978 by the closest margin in the history of the event. ... Sled dogs, known also as sleigh dogs, sledge dogs or sleddogs are dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle on runners (a sled or sleigh) over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. ...

Swenson was born in Minnesota and moved to Alaska in 1973, living in Eureka, and then moving to Two Rivers in the late 1980s. He has been a fur trapper, gold prospector, and is currently a kennel owner. He is also on the board of directors of the Iditarod Trail Committee, which manages the race. As of 2005 he is still competing in the Iditarod. Official language(s) None Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 12th 225,365 km² 400 km 645 km 8. ... Two Rivers is a census-designated place located in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 482. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... A fur trapper is a person whose occupation involved the trapping of animals for their fur. ... A prospector is a person who prospects, or explores an area for natural resources such as minerals, oil, flora or fauna. ... The word kennel has several meanings in relation to dogs: The small shed in which a dog is kept; a doghouse. ...

References

• Chas St. George (2005). "Five time champion Rick Swenson scratches in McGrath". Iditarod Trail Committee. March 10, 2005. (pdf of press release)

External links

• Official Iditarod bio
• Cabela bio