Yesterday I posted a story about the 2010 Iditarod that proclaimed Lance Mackey the winner of his fourth straight race, but it turns it out that the source I used (The Examiner) was a bit premature in their posting, and Lance hadn't even crossed the finish line yet. Worse yet, they claimed that Jeff King took second place, while both men were still out on the course. The article was later removed, and I had to post an update saying that we were still waiting for the results.
Well, the results are now final, and Mackey did indeed win his fourth straight Iditarod, but it was Hans Gatt, not Jeff King, who claimed second place. King would take third, and a host of other mushers have now come into Nome, including Ken Anderson and John Backer, who were fourth and fifth respectively. Ramey Smyth finished sixth and Sebastian Schnuelle seven, with Dallas Seavey eight, and Hugh Neff ninth. As of this writing, those are the only teams that have crossed the finish line. Mitch Seaey is out of the checkpoint in Safety and on his way in however.
As I mentioned yesterday, both King and Mackey are said to be retiring from the Iditarod, so this list of mushers is likely to be the ones that are contending for next year's win. There are a number of good, young sled drivers on that list, so it's clear that the Last Great Race will continue to thrive without these two great champions who now have four wins apiece. Most notably, keep an eye out for Dallas Seavey, who is one of the best young racers out there, and clearly has a bright future ahead of him.
Congrats to all the finishers, and as I said yesterday, so long to Lance and Jeff. Their presence will most certainly be missed next year.
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