FAIRBANKS — A man who seemed headed for the winning spot in a Fairbanks sled dog race ended up in second place after his sled was struck by a snowmachine during the final stretch.
The incident happened Sunday during the Annamaet Limited North American Championships, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported (http://bit.ly/2mk53un).
Kourosh Partow of Chugiak had been leading the eight-dog mushing class for the first two days of the event when he was struck by a snowmachine driver during the 12-mile final heat.
Partow and his sled dogs were not injured and the sled was not damaged, but the collision “pretty much cost him first place,” said Sam Harrel, Alaska Dog Mushers Association trail boss, in a text message to the newspaper.
Patrow ended up finishing second in the heat and second overall in the eight-dog class behind Dawn Brown of Salcha.
The incident came after another snowmachine encounter in which the driver blocked the way of an eight-dog musher on the trail.
“(It) stopped the team, causing a tangle that needed to be straightened out,” Harrel said.
