Gebhardt jumps out into early lead in Iditarod
Source: Agencies |
March 10, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ALASKAN Paul Gebhardt moved into the Iditarod lead on Monday night, becoming the first musher to leave the Rohn checkpoint, about 438 kilometers beyond Anchorage, Alaska.
A handful of mushers were reported in Rohn, including Canadian Sebastian Schnuelle, Zack Steer, Sven Haltmann, Hugh Neff and four-time champion Jeff King.
Lance Mackey is also gunning for his fourth consecutive win in the 1,770-kilometer Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Going into the race, Mackey said his 16-dog team looked sharp, consisting of new youngsters and a core of veterans that are capable of beating 70 other teams to the finish line in Nome on Alaska's western coast. The Fairbanks musher, whose father and brother are past Iditarod winners, said he feels as competitive as he's been in the past, despite a host of health issues that make you wonder how he can even get to the trail.
"I know. A lot of people say the same thing," he said. "But I make up mentally what I'm lacking a little bit physically."
He is the only musher ever to win both the Iditarod and the 1,600-kilometer Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in the same year. And it's a feat he has accomplished twice.
Mackey speaks openly about using medical marijuana on the trail as a post-cancer painkiller and appetite enhancer. He also talks about facing a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession after being found with a small amount at the Anchorage airport in January, after his medical marijuana card had expired.
For this race, he said he's staying away from marijuana. That's because the Iditarod for the first time is testing mushers for alcohol and illegal drugs, although a provision allowing testing has been on the rule books since 1984. Officials say exemptions include Marinol, a government-approved drug that contains the active ingredient in marijuana, but Mackey said he's even laying off on his own prescription.
Mackey believes the policy is directed at him. He said other competitors have complained that marijuana has given him an advantage.
"We're going to prove some people wrong," he said. "The dogs are the ones doing all the work, for the most part. I don't see much of an argument beyond that."
A handful of mushers were reported in Rohn, including Canadian Sebastian Schnuelle, Zack Steer, Sven Haltmann, Hugh Neff and four-time champion Jeff King.
Lance Mackey is also gunning for his fourth consecutive win in the 1,770-kilometer Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Going into the race, Mackey said his 16-dog team looked sharp, consisting of new youngsters and a core of veterans that are capable of beating 70 other teams to the finish line in Nome on Alaska's western coast. The Fairbanks musher, whose father and brother are past Iditarod winners, said he feels as competitive as he's been in the past, despite a host of health issues that make you wonder how he can even get to the trail.
"I know. A lot of people say the same thing," he said. "But I make up mentally what I'm lacking a little bit physically."
He is the only musher ever to win both the Iditarod and the 1,600-kilometer Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in the same year. And it's a feat he has accomplished twice.
Mackey speaks openly about using medical marijuana on the trail as a post-cancer painkiller and appetite enhancer. He also talks about facing a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession after being found with a small amount at the Anchorage airport in January, after his medical marijuana card had expired.
For this race, he said he's staying away from marijuana. That's because the Iditarod for the first time is testing mushers for alcohol and illegal drugs, although a provision allowing testing has been on the rule books since 1984. Officials say exemptions include Marinol, a government-approved drug that contains the active ingredient in marijuana, but Mackey said he's even laying off on his own prescription.
Mackey believes the policy is directed at him. He said other competitors have complained that marijuana has given him an advantage.
"We're going to prove some people wrong," he said. "The dogs are the ones doing all the work, for the most part. I don't see much of an argument beyond that."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
