Jeff King (musher)
Jeff King (born February 6, 1956) is an American musher and sled dog racer.
Jeff King | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Jeff King (center) posing for photos with spectators during the 2013 Kuskokwim 300. | |
| Born | February 6, 1956 North Fork, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Dog musher |
| Spouse | Donna Gates (?–2011) |
| Children | 3 |
King moved to Alaska in 1975 and began racing in 1976. A successful sled dog racer, he won the Yukon Quest in 1989, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1993, 1996, 1998, and, most recently, the 2006 Iditarod. Four other mushers have won the Iditarod four times (Martin Buser, Susan Butcher, Doug Swingley, Lance Mackey) and only two, Dallas Seavey and Rick Swenson, have won it more often (five times each). King was 50 years old when he won the 2006 Iditarod, which made him the oldest musher to win the event, a distinction he held until 2017, when Mitch Seavey won at age 57.[1][2] As of 2015, King has competed in 26 Iditarods. His "Idita-Rider" for the 2005 Iditarod was a child sponsored by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. King has also won many other sled dog races. He continues to race and has a kennel near the entrance of Denali National Park.
While on a training run in Denali National Park in 1980, King's team became entangled with that of a new volunteer ranger and met his future wife and mother of his three daughters, award-winning artist Donna Gates. They divorced in 2011.
Jeff King was inducted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame in 1999.[3] He is the author of Cold Hands, Warm Heart: Alaskan Adventures of an Iditarod Champion, and co-author (with Tricia Brown) of a children's book, Zig: The Princess Warrior.[4]
Major Mushing Victories
Iditarod (4 times): 1993, 1996, 1998, 2006
Yukon Quest: 1989
Kuskokwim 300 (9): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2013
Copper Basin 300 (2): 1995, 2010
Tustumena 200 (3): 2000
Notes
- St. George 2006, para. 2.
- Alaska Dispatch, 13 March 2013
- Anchorage Daily News, "Jeff King Among Dog Racing Royalty", February 20, 2006. / http://www.adn.com/2006/02/19/277981/jeff-king-among-dog-racing-royalty.html. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - King, Jeff; Runyan, Joe (2008-02-01). Cold Hands, Warm Heart: Alaskan Adventures of an Iditarod Champion. Donna Gates King. Denali, Alaska: Husky Homestead Press. ISBN 9780882407364.
References
- St. George, Chas. (March 15, 2006). King makes it number four. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 15, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
- Medred,Craig & Caldwell, Suzanna (March 13, 2013). Mitch Seavey claims victory in Iditarod 2013. "Alaska Dispatch"
