Winning Musher Is Oldest Champion In Iditarod History

"Mitch Seavey scored one for the AARP-eligible crowd Tuesday night by becoming the oldest champion in Iditarod history," the Anchorage Daily News writes this morning.

According to Alaska Public Telecommunications, the 53-year-old Seavey crossed the finish line at 10:39 p.m. local time on Tuesday — 2:39 a.m. ET Wednesday. It has "checkpoint to checkpoint" coverage of the race posted here.

The Daily News says Seavey and his team of sled dogs finished the 1,000-mile race in "9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds." His team was led by "Tanner, a 6-year-old, orange-brown husky."

Before this, the oldest musher to have led his team to victory was Jeff King. He was 50 when he won the race in 2006, the Daily News says.

Seavey and his son Dallas are now the oldest and youngest winning mushers in Iditarod history. Dallas Seavey was 25 when he won the race in 2012. Mitch Seavey has won the Iditarod twice. His other victory was in 2004.

Mitch Seavey, according to his bio on the Iditarod website, "was born in Minnesota and moved with his family to Alaska in 1963." The Seavey family has a website as well, to promote its racing team and sled dog tours.