In Alaska, 37 men and women and their teams started the dog sled race called Iditarod.
03/08/2026, 05:1103/08/2026, 05:11
The competitors have about ten days and around 1,600 kilometers to cover in the largest and toughest dog sled race in the world.
One of the participants at the start of the race in Anchorage.Image: keystone
25 men and 12 women are taking part in the 54th race this year – in addition to Americans and Canadians, there is also a man from Switzerland, a man and a woman from Norway and a woman from Denmark, as the organizers announced. 14 are taking part for the first time, 3 have already won the race before. The destination is the town of Nome on the Bering Sea.
The Iditarod runs from Anchorage through the Alaskan wilderness, often in snowstorms and extremely sub-zero temperatures. It is considered a major burden for humans and animals. Animal rights protests against the event have steadily increased in recent years.
The competition was founded in 1973 and takes its name from a river and now-abandoned town in western Alaska. The race commemorates a dog sled expedition in 1925 that brought an antidote to Nome. The Iditarod Trail also transported goods and mail in the 20th century. (sda/dpa)