Robert Walter Sørlie (born 15 February 1958), (pronounced: /sir-lee/) commonly "Sorlie" in English, is a two-time Iditarod champion

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

dog musher and dog sled racer from

Hurdal Hurdal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...

. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew, Bjørnar Andersen, he forms " Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the second non-American after Martin Buser to win the 1,049-mile

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 run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of between 12 a ...

across

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, 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 (thirteen times) and Europe's longest dog race, Finnmarksløpet (1995, 1999, 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

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...

, Sweden, to

Røros Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen. The min ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, edging out Bjørnar Andersen 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 Andersen 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 firefighter at Oslo Airport.

External links

Team Norway's homepage

Sørlie's bio at the Iditarod
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorlie, Robert Norwegian dog mushers 1958 births Living people People from Hurdal Iditarod champions Sportspeople from Viken (county)