Ryan Redington earned Alaska Athlete of the Week honors after an inspiring victory in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The grandson of Iditarod founder Joe Redington Sr., Redington held on to earn his family’s first victory in the 51-year-old race.

Redington is one of six family members who have raced over the years — a group with 20 top-10 finishes. He  was coming off three straight top-10 finishes.

Redington gambled by racing through Elim, a checkpoint 120 miles from the Nome finish line. He left behind fellow frontrunners Pete Kaiser and Richie Diehl, who both rested their dogs. The lead Redington snatched by not stopping in Elim was big enough to get him to Nome in first place.

The Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Monday.

Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.

Also receiving votes: Finnigan Donley, Maxime Germain. Miron Golfman, Lydia Jacoby, Darci Matson, Alissa Pili, Jeremy Swayman, Bishop Tosi, Wells Wappett

School Boosters:
Loren Kroon