Legendary Iditarod Champions: The Mushers Who Defined the Race

Fifty-plus years of racing to Nome have produced a handful of names every Alaskan knows. Here are the champions who defined the Iditarod.

Dick Wilmarth — the first (1973)

Wilmarth won the very first Iditarod in 1973, setting the race in motion.

Rick Swenson — "the King" (5 wins)

Swenson won five times between 1977 and 1991 and is the only musher to win in three different decades — long the standard every champion was measured against.

Libby Riddles — first woman to win (1985)

Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985, pushing out into a blizzard that every other front-runner sat out. Her gamble won the race and inspired a generation of women mushers.

Susan Butcher — the dynasty (4 wins)

Butcher won four times between 1986 and 1990, becoming one of the most dominant mushers — and dog-care innovators — the sport has seen.

Lance Mackey — four in a row (2007–2010)

Mackey won four consecutive Iditarods, and in several of those years also won the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest weeks earlier — a feat once thought impossible.

The Seaveys — a family record

Mitch Seavey became the oldest champion at 57 in 2017. His son Dallas Seavey won the first of his titles in 2012 as the youngest-ever champion at 25, and in 2024 claimed a record sixth win — the most in race history, breaking the mark he'd shared with Rick Swenson.

See the race

Follow this year's standings and route on the Iditarod 2027 hub, and read how the race began.