Share and Follow
In Nome, Alaska, Jessie Holmes, a former reality television personality, clinched his second consecutive victory in the Iditarod, Alaska’s renowned sled dog race stretching approximately 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers).
Holmes and his team of sled dogs triumphantly crossed the finish line on Tuesday night in Nome, a historic town renowned for its Gold Rush history on the coast of the Bering Sea. As he arrived, Holmes celebrated with both fists raised in triumph, receiving enthusiastic cheers from the gathered crowd.
Post-race, Holmes treated his dogs to steaks and addressed questions alongside his lead dogs, Polar and Zeus.
“Zeus led every single leg of the race except one,” Holmes shared. “I wanted to give another dog a chance to enjoy leading. But Polar truly deserved this moment, leading by setting an example.”
The race commenced on March 8 in Willow, following a ceremonial start in Anchorage the previous day. The challenging course took the dog teams and their mushers over two mountain ranges, along the frozen stretches of the Yukon River, and across the unpredictable ice of the Bering Sea.
Holmes, a former cast member on the National Geographic reality show “Life Below Zero,” is the third competitor in the 54-year history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to repeat the year after winning for the first time. The others were Susan Butcher in 1986-1987 and Lance Mackey in 2007-2008. Both went on to win four titles.
He will pocket about $80,000 for this year’s win, up from the $57,000-plus he took home last year. This year’s purse was boosted by financial support from Norwegian billionaire Kjell Rokke, who participated in a newly created, noncompetitive amateur category. Rokke reached Nome on Monday, under rules that allowed him to have outside support from a former Iditarod champ, flexible rest periods and to swap out dogs.
Holmes’ first Iditarod was in 2018. His seventh place finish earned him rookie of the year honors. He has now raced in the Iditarod nine times, earning seven top 10 finishes. He’s been in the top five the last five races.
He appeared for eight years on “Life Below Zero,” which chronicled the hardships of people living in rural Alaska.
Holmes used the money he earned from the show to buy better dogs and equipment, and also was able to purchase raw land near Denali National Park and Preserve. A carpenter by trade, he’s carved his homestead in the wilderness, where his closest neighbor is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away.
Rokke, who now lives in Switzerland, provided $100,000 in additional prize money and $170,000 to Alaska Native villages that serve as checkpoints. Another musher in the noncompetitive “expedition” class, Canadian entrepreneur Steve Curtis, pledged $50,000 to help youth sports programs in the villages. Curtis did not finish the race.
The race’s biggest critic, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has claimed that more than 150 dogs have died in the history of the Iditarod. It urged Rokke to spend his money to help dogs rather than put them through “hazards and misery.”
The Iditarod has never provided its count of dogs who have died on the race.
One dog has died in this year’s race, a 4-year-old female named Charly on musher Mille Porsild’s team, the Iditarod said in a statement Tuesday. A necropsy will be conducted.
Thirty-four competitive mushers started, matching the inaugural 1973 race for the second fewest in race history. The retirements of many longtime mushers and the high cost of supplies, such as dog food, have kept the fields small this decade.