Doug Swingley
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Doug Swingley (born May 14, 1953) is an American dog musher and dog sled racer from Lincoln, Montana, who is a four-time winner of the 1,049 mile Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. His victory in 1995 marked the first time a non-Alaskan won the race, and he followed it by winning in 1999, 2000, and 2001. He competed in every Iditarod from 1992 to 2002, and during his rookie outing he won the Dorothy G. Page Halfway award, for being the first musher to reach the half-way point of the race.
Swingley pulled out of the 2004 Iditarod because of frostbite in his corneas (eyes). Since the injury, his night vision has diminished, so he prefers to race during the day. He is a competitor in the 2005 race, and if he wins he will tie Rick Swenson as a five-time winner. The only other four-time winners are Susan Butcher, and Martin Buser.
In 2002, he married Melanie Shirilla under the "burled arch", the traditional finish line of the Iditarod in Nome.
External links
- Cabela bio (http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/mushers/swingleyd.html)