Norwegian Waerner wins Iditarod sled dog race

Thomas Waerner reaches Nome, Alaska first to claim a maiden victory in the Iditarod trail sled dog race.

VIDEO SHOWS: THOMAS WAERNER WINNING THE IDITAROD TRAIL SLEG DOG RACE / COMMENTS FROM WAERNER SHOWS: NOME, ALASKA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 18, 2020) (LAGARDERE - NO USE 48 HOURS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE EVENT.

NO ARCHIVE) 1.

VARIOUS OF THOMAS WAERNER FINISHING THE RACE FIRST 2.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) 2020 IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE WINNER, THOMAS WAERNER, SAYING: "He's an amazing, amazing dog.

He has this inside engine that never stops.

And then you have Bark.

He's the tough one, so he's the one that's just charging through everything.

You know, doesn't matter what comes he will just go through it.

Storms or whatever." 3.

WAERNER RECEIVING HIS WINNERS CHEQUE 4.

WAERNER RECEIVING A NEW DODGE CAR FOLLOWING HIS WIN 5.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) 2020 IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE WINNER, THOMAS WAERNER, SAYING: "Thank you.

I'm a Dodge (car) fan, so I have a Dodge at home.

But, it's a 2006 (model) and I've done 300, 000 miles now.

So, it's time to change it out." 6.

WAERNER WITH NORWEGIAN FLAG STORY: Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday (March 18), capturing victory in only his second attempt at the famous long-distance race across Alaska.

Waerner and his tail-wagging dogs reached the finish line in downtown Nome just after midnight, completing the 1,000-mile race in nine days, 10 hours and 37:47 minutes.

A pared-down team of race officials and a small cluster of cheering fans, one waving a large Norwegian flag, greeted Waerner.

The usual huge and raucous Nome finish-line crowd was absent, curtailed by the global coronavirus pandemic.

The 47-year-old musher from Synnfjell, a mountainous town near Lillehammer, ran his first Iditarod in 2015.

He finished in 17th place, the top spot that year for a rookie.

While he is relatively new to the Iditarod, Waerner is an accomplished musher on the European circuit.

Last year he won the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) Finnmarksløpet, Europe's longest dog-sled race.

Waerner is part of a growing Norwegian presence at the Iditarod.

He is the third of his countrymen to win the famous race, following two-time champion Robert Sorlie and 2018 champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom.

For his victory, Waerner won $51,000 and a new truck.

Fifty-seven mushers and their teams started the race on March 7 in Anchorage.

As of early Wednesday, after Waerner crossed the finish line, 11 had dropped out but 45 more remained on the trail.

(Production: Stefan Haskins, Tim Hart)