Express & Star

Ex-reality TV star Jessie Holmes wins longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

The race is a staggering 1,129 miles across the Alaskan wilderness.

By contributor AP Reporters
Published
Jesse Holmes on a sled
Jessie Holmes took the title (AP)

Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, has won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.

Holmes was first to the finish line in the Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast.

The race began March 3 in Fairbanks after a lack of snow forced changes to the route and starting point.

That took the normally 1,000-mile race to a staggering 1,129 miles across the Alaskan wilderness. Holmes finished in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

Sled dogs
The gruelling race stretches more then 1,000 miles (AP)

“It’s hard to put into words, but it’s a magical feeling,” Holmes said shortly after crossing the finish line.

“It’s not about this moment now. It’s about all those moments along the trail.”

Holmes, who was competing for the eighth time, previously finished in the top 10 five times, including third last year and in 2022.

In his first Iditarod, in 2018, his seventh-place finish earned him Rookie of the Year honours.