Dick Wilmarth
Born1942 (1942)
DiedMarch 21, 2018(2018-03-21) (aged 75–76)
Anchorage, Alaska
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Dog musher, miner, trapper
Known forBeing the first winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Dick Wilmarth (c.1942 – March 21, 2018)[1] was a miner and trapper from Red Devil, Alaska who won the inaugural Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973 with lead dog Hotfoot.

In a 2001 interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Wilmarth said he saw the 1973 Iditarod as not really a sled dog race but more of a time to enjoy the Alaska wilderness with friends. He assembled a 12-dog team just a few months before the race, obtaining dogs from Native villages on the Kuskokwim River.

Thirty-five dog teams started the 1973 race and twenty-two finished. Competing in what would be his only Iditarod, Wilmarth won in a time of in 20 days, 49 minutes, 41 seconds, claiming the first-place prize money of $12,000. Almost two weeks behind him was John Schultz who became the recipient of the first ever "Red Lantern" award given to the last musher to cross the finish line in Nome, Alaska.

References

  1. ↑ "Dick Wilmarth, first winner of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, dies at 75". 27 March 2018.

Sources

  • Anchorage Daily News story
  • "Iditarod Glory" by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue and Jeff Schultz. (2006) Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co. ISBN 1-55868-911-7
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.