Robert Sørlie (born 1958), commonly "
Sorlie" in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, is a two time Iditarod champion
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
dog musherMushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow. The term is thought to come from the...
and
dog sled racerDogsled racing, more accurately referred to as sled dog racing, is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner...
from
HurdalHurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal....
. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew,
Bjørnar AndersenBjørnar Andersen , commonly Bjornar in English is a Norwegian refrigerator mechanic and dog musher who has won all the long-distance dog sled races in Norway, and placed fourth in the 2005 Iditarod across the U.S. state of Alaska, in his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
, he forms "Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the only non-
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, U.S. He won it again in 2005.
Sørlie has been racing dogs since the 1970s, and has won numerous races starting in 1991, including Femundløpet (four times) and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
's longest dog race, Finnmarksløpet (1995–1991, and 2001).
Robert Sørlie (born 1958), commonly "
Sorlie" in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, is a two time Iditarod champion
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
dog musherMushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow. The term is thought to come from the...
and
dog sled racerDogsled racing, more accurately referred to as sled dog racing, is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner...
from
HurdalHurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal....
. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew,
Bjørnar AndersenBjørnar Andersen , commonly Bjornar in English is a Norwegian refrigerator mechanic and dog musher who has won all the long-distance dog sled races in Norway, and placed fourth in the 2005 Iditarod across the U.S. state of Alaska, in his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
, he forms "Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the only non-
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, U.S. He won it again in 2005.
Norwegian races
Sørlie has been racing dogs since the 1970s, and has won numerous races starting in 1991, including Femundløpet (four times) and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
's longest dog race, Finnmarksløpet (1995–1991, and 2001). He has won the Norwegian long-distance championship twice (1993 and 1995), and the mid-distance championship once (1992). In 2008 Sørlie won the inaugural Amundsen Race, a 400 km race from Østersund,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, to
Rørosis a town and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, edging out
Bjørnar AndersenBjørnar Andersen , commonly Bjornar in English is a Norwegian refrigerator mechanic and dog musher who has won all the long-distance dog sled races in Norway, and placed fourth in the 2005 Iditarod across the U.S. state of Alaska, in his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
by just one minute.
Iditarod
Sørlie ran the Iditarod for the first time in 2002, placing 9th, which won him the "Rookie of the Year" award. The following year he won the race in 9 days, 15 hours, 47 minutes, and 36 seconds, becoming the first non-North American resident to win the race. Since he was in the lead for most of the route he picked up many of the "lesser" trophies for being first to various checkpoints along the way. The course was altered that year due to lack of good snow cover, and although Sørlie was obviously a skilled musher with a strong dog team, some claimed the win was affected by the new course.
After holding a tight lead for most of the 2005 race, he won, once again amid warmer than average temperatures and subsequent challenging driving conditions. He and his dogs ran against a very competitive field, including five other previous winners of the Iditarod, and he finished only 34 minutes ahead of second place.
Bjørnar AndersenBjørnar Andersen , commonly Bjornar in English is a Norwegian refrigerator mechanic and dog musher who has won all the long-distance dog sled races in Norway, and placed fourth in the 2005 Iditarod across the U.S. state of Alaska, in his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
finished in fourth place, while Kjetil Backen did not mush, but instead acted as team tactician. The race this year followed a more traditional route.
Personal life
Sørlie has been living with Elin Pedersen since 1980, and together they have two sons, Håkon and Magnus. When he is not mushing, he works as a
firefighterFirefighters, or firemen, are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car accidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
at
Oslo AirportOslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving the Norwegian capital city of Oslo. It is also the main international airport serving Norway, with flights to a large number of European airports, and some flights to other continents. It is located at Gardermoen in Ullensaker, north...
.
External links