1,000 miles, nine days, and freezing cold: the unforgiving world of Iditarod trail sled dog race

Norway’s Thomas Waerner wins amid coronavirus scare and pressure from animal rights activists

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  Four-time champion Lance Mackey departs from the start line at the ceremonial Anchorage start of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. Reuters

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  Marty Runkle checks in musher Mitch Seavey at the Nikolai, Alaska, checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. AP

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  Oogruk, a dog in Kristy Berington's team, jumps before departure from Takotna, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. AP

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  Linwood Fiedler leaves Takotna, Alaska, during the Iditarod trail sled dog race. AP

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  Joar Liefseth Ulsom, of Norway, tends to his dogs while talking to fellow competitor Thomas Waerner in Ruby, Alaska, during the Iditarod trail sled dog race. AP

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  Richie Diehl arrives in Ruby, Alaska, during the Iditarod. AP

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  Brent Sass heads down the Yukon River between Ruby and Galena, Alaska, during the Iditarod. AP

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  A dog in Thomas Waerner's team rests in Unalakleet, Alaska, during the Iditarod trail sled dog race. AP

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  Thomas Waerner won the 2020 Iditarod trail sled dog race. AP

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  Mitch Seavey mushes into the Nikolai, Alaska, checkpoint during the Iditarod. AP

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  Signs point toward Nome, Alaska, 852 miles away, as Ryan Redington leaves the Finger Lake, Alaska, checkpoint during the Iditarod. AP

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  Joar Leifseth Ulsom arrives at the Rainy Pass checkpoint on Puntilla Lake during the Iditarod trail sled dog race. AP

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  Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), protest at the Anchorage ceremonial start of the 2020 Iditarod. Reuters

Norway’s Thomas Waerner won the Iditarod trail sled dog race across Alaska, in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic and growing pressure from animal rights activists.

Waerner crossed the finish line in Nome, Alaska, early on Wednesday.

"This is awesome," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "This is something special."

He took nine days, 10 hours, 37 minutes and 47 seconds to travel nearly 1,000 miles (1,600km) across Alaska.

Waerner called K2 – his lead dog – “an amazing dog. He has this inside engine that never stops.”

Bark, his other lead dog, is the tough one. “He’s the one just charging through everything. It doesn’t matter what comes, he will just go through it, storms or whatever. So those two together are an amazing team.”

Waerner will take home a minimum of $50,000 (Dh328,000) and a new pickup truck for winning the race. The final cash amount will depend on how many mushers – dog sled drivers – finish the race. Wearner became the third Norwegian to win the Iditarod.

The Iditarod started on March 8 at Anchorage with 57 mushers, the second smallest field in two decades. Since the race started, 11 mushers withdrew.

Fears over the coronavirus prompted big changes. Fans were asked not to fly to Nome for the finish after the city closed public buildings.

Another major factor has been the pressure exerted by animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

Two sponsors have cut ties with the race. Alaska Airlines announced it would end the four-decade long association. Fiat Chrysler said its Anchorage dealership will no longer be sponsors.

Peta claim that more than 150 dogs have died running the Iditarod since it began in 1973. Race organisers dispute that number.

The Iditarod is one of the most brutal events on the planet with teams racing through blizzards in sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds.