Prior to 2012, Dallas Seavey already held one close to unbreakable Iditarod record. In 2005, he turned the minimum age of 18 years old on the day of the race's ceremonial start, making him the youngest participant in race history.
It soon became quite clear that although Seavey was a young man, his years of experience in the sport itself made him a contender. Dallas, son of 2004 champion Mitch Seavey, established himself with three consecutive top 10 finishes from 2009 to 2011.
In this year's race, he dueled with his father, Aliy Zirkle, Aaron Burmeister, and others before emerging with the team to beat on the coast. In Nome, Seavey finished first, one hour ahead of Zirkle, in 9 days, 4 hours, 29 minutes.
Since he turned 25 during the race, Seavey surpassed Rick Swenson, who was 26 at the time of his first Iditarod title in 1977, as the youngest champion in the race's history. To put his accomplishment into perspective, if Seavey were to repeat in 2013, he would still be younger than any other champion before him.
