After over a week of cold temperatures, physical and mental tests and back-and-forth competition, the winner of the 2025 Iditarod has been crowned. Jessie Holmes crossed the finish line first in the annual dog sled race,

NOME, Alaska (AP) — Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday. Holmes was first to the finish line in the Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast. The race began March 3 in Fairbanks after a lack of snow forced changes to the route and starting point.

The Interior Alaska musher won his first Iditarod on his eighth try, arriving in Nome with his dog team early Friday.

"The Last Great Race on Earth" takes place in Alaska each March, as mushers and teams of 12-14 dogs race through the wilderness from Anchorage to Nome. To log a qualifying time, a musher needs at least five dogs pulling the sled across the finish line.

NOME — Jessie Holmes, a 43-year-old Alabamian who came to Alaska more than 20 years ago, has earned his first win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Holmes crossed under the burled arch in Nome just before 3 a.m. Friday with 10 dogs on the line, completing his journey in a preliminary time of 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star on “Life Below Zero,” won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race early Friday morning, crossing under the burled arch in Nome, Alaska, around 2:55 a.m.

Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes wins Iditarod after crossing the finish line in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

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Former reality star Jessie Holmes, who appeared on 'Life Below Zero' until 2023, won his first ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 14.