Cancer claims Iditarod champion Rick Mackey. His father and brother also won famed Alaska race

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Musher and dog trainer Rick Mackey has died. He won the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska in 1983. His daughter Brenda Mackey tells The Associated Press he died Monday after battling lung cancer. Mackey participated in 22 Iditarods between 1975 and 2004, notching 13 top 10 finishes. The Mackey name is synonymous with the Iditarod. Rick’s father Dick won the race in 1978, and his brother Lance won four straight Iditarods, from 2007 through 2010. Rick was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after his brother died of cancer in September 2022.