- The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 13, 2013

As if winning the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race isn’t historic enough. This year’s winner, Mitch Seavey, will also go down in history as the oldest to claim a victory.

“This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age,” the 53-year-old said, as he crossed the finish line with his 10-dog team, as quoted by The Associated Press. His race time: Nine days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, AP said.

The race is 1,000 miles across the Alaskan wild.

Mr. Seavey was forced to sprint to the finish line. Last year’s runner-up, Aliv Zirkle, came in a close second — just 24 minutes after Mr. Seavey, AP reported.

And in a show of grace during victory, Mr. Seavey recognized Mr. Zirkle’s racing ability.

“You did a good job,” he told Mr. Zirkle, AP reported. “You’re going to win this thing, probably more than once.”

This isn’t Mr. Seavey’s first Iditarod win; he brought home the first place trophy in 2004, AP reports.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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