For the Saskatchewan politician see Rick Swenson (politician).
Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", (born 1950 in Willmar, Minnesota), is an American dog musher who has won the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog 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. He won his first race at the age of 27.
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 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.
Swenson moved to Alaska in 1973 to run sled dogs. He lived first in Eureka, then moved to Two Rivers in the late 1980s. He has been a fur trapper, gold prospector, and is currently a kennel owner. He also enjoys woodworking and is the father of three children. He is a member of the Alaska Miner Association, Two Rivers Mushing Association, and is on the board of directors of the Iditarod Trail Committee, which manages the race. As of 2009, he is still competing in the Iditarod.
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