Dallas Seavey Wins Fourth Iditarod Championship In Five Years

Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael Dinneen/AP Michael Dinneen/AP

For the third year in a row, Dallas Seavey is the first musher to reach Nome, Alaska, winning his fourth Iditarod championship overall. Seavey had been the first to reach the race's final checkpoints, ahead of his father, Mitch – another previous champion.

Seavey's team of seven dogs averaged nearly 9.5 miles an hour on the 1,000-mile journey, according to the Iditarod competition tracking website.

In winning the race, Seavey also broke his own course record, with a time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes and 16 seconds — an improvement of nearly two hours over his previous mark, set in 2014.

With four Iditarod championships, Seavey trails Rick Swenson for the most titles all-time (Swenson won five between 1977 and 1991). In 2012, Seavey became the youngest Iditarod winner on record, at age 25.

A crowd cheered Seavey on as he jogged across the finish line with his dogs, the dark night light by floodlights and camera flashes.

As Alaska Public Radio reports, the Seavey family has a long history with the Iditarod: Dallas' grandfather, Dan, ran the first race back in 1973. APR adds that Dallas Seavey has now become the youngest musher to reach four titles.

In an interview with NPR's Here and Now last year, Seavey discussed his strategy for winning the grueling race: