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Obit-Former Iditarod Champion
FILE - In this March 6, 1999, file photo, soap opera star Susan Lucci takes a ride in the sled of musher Rick Mackey at the start of the 27th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. Mackey, the winner of the 1983 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, has died of lung cancer, his daughter Brenda told The Associated Press, Wednesday, May 11, 2024. Mackey, who died Monday, May 13, was 71. (AP Photo/Al Grillo, File)

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

Musher and dog trainer Rick Mackey has died

By Mark Thiessen
Published - May 15, 2024, 05:15 PM ET
Last Updated - May 27, 2024, 12:56 AM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rick Mackey, the winner of the 1983 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, has died of lung cancer, his daughter told The Associated Press Wednesday. Mackey, who died Monday, was 71.

The Mackey name is closely tied to the history of the Iditarod, the grueling race that takes mushers and their dog teams 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) across the Alaska wilderness to the finish line on the Bering Sea coast. Rick's father, Dick, won the race in 1978, and his late brother Lance won an unprecedented four straight championships from 2007 through 2010.

Rick Mackey was diagnosed with lung cancer two weeks after his brother died of cancer in September 2022, according to Rick Mackey's daughter, Brenda Mackey.

All three Mackeys won their first Iditarod in their sixth attempts, and all wore the bib No. 13.

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