Peter Kaiser (born 1987) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

dog musher who won the 2019

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod (), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at lea ...

. Kaiser is the first

Yup’ik The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik (Central Alaskan Yupʼik language, own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian language, Russian: Юп� ...

musher and the fifth Alaska Native to win an Iditarod championship. He is from

Bethel, Alaska Bethel () is a city in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the Kuskokwim River approximately from where the river flows into Kuskokwim Bay. It is the largest community in western Alaska and in the Unorganized Borough and the List of cities in ...

. Kaiser graduated from

Bethel Regional High School Bethel Regional High School (BRHS) is a public high school in Bethel, Alaska, United States, and part of the Lower Kuskokwim School District Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD), or Bethel Public Schools, is a school district headquartered ...

in 2005. He works in construction, and fishes and hunts. He is married and has two children.

Career

Kaiser finished 28th in the 2010 Iditarod, his rookie year in the event, then finished eighth in 2011 and fifth in 2012. He won the Iditarod in 2019. He finished second in 2023. Kaiser has 8 top ten finishes in the 13 Iditarods he has finished. Kaiser also won the Kuskokwim 300 championship six times. The Kuskokwim 300, a highly regarded mid-distance race, figured prominently in his decision to become a competitive musher. “Our family has always had dogs, and I’ve been mushing since I was a kid," he said on his Iditarod bio. "Watching the Kuskokwim 300 every January sparked my interest in long distance racing, and a few years ago, I decided that I would give the Iditarod a try."

Career summary

Kaiser's first-place finishes include the following races: * 2024 Kuskokwim 300 * 2023 Kuskokwim 300 * 2022 Bogus Creek 150 * 2022 Kuskokwim 300 * 2020 Kuskokwim 300 * 2019 Iditarod * 2018 Kuskokwim 300 * 2017 Kuskokwim 300 * 2016 Kuskokwim 300 * 2016 Denali Doubles * 2015 Kuskokwim 300 * 2013 Norton Sound 450 * 2012 Norton Sound 450 * 2011 Kobuk 440 * 2008 Bogus Creek 150 * 2005 Akiak Dash 65

References

1987 births 21st-century Alaska Native people Dog mushers from Alaska Iditarod champions Living people People from Bethel, Alaska Yupik people {{US-sport-bio-stub