Brent Sass, a 42-year-old former college Nordic skier, glided into Nome early on Tuesday morning to win Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in the 50th year that the grueling, 1,000-mile (1,610-km) test of endurance has been run.
A cheering crowd greeted Sass and his 11-dog team as they reached the finish line on Nome's Front Street at 5:38 a.m. His elapsed time of eight days, 14 hours, 38 minutes and 43 seconds was one of the fastest times in the Iditarod's half-century history.
It was the first Iditarod victory for Sass, who moved to Alaska 24 years ago and has been living in Eureka, a tiny settlement outside Fairbanks.