Robert Walter Sørlie (born 15 February 1958), (pronounced: /sir-lee/) commonly "Sorlie" in English, is a two-time Iditarod champion Norwegian dog musher and dog sled racer from Hurdal. Together with

Kjetil Backen Kjetil is a Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: * Kjetil Aleksander Lie (born 1980), Norwegian chess player, Norway's eighth International Grandmaster * Kjetil André Aamodt (born 1971), Norwegian former alpine ski racer *Kjetil Bang- ...

and his nephew,

Bjørnar Andersen Bjørnar Andersen (born 1978), 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 ...

, he forms " Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the second non-American after

Martin Buser Martin Buser (born March 29, 1958) is a champion of sled dog racing. Born in Winterthur, Switzerland, Buser began mushing at age seventeen in Switzerland. In 1979, he moved to Alaska to train and raise sled dogs full-time. His training opera ...

to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska, 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 Finnmarksløpet is the world's northernmost sled dog race. It is also Europe's longest sled dog race. The race starts on Saturday of the 10th week of the year and goes across Finnmark in Norway. The race was first run in 1981. Open Class Daily ...

(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 Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen began ...

, a 400 km race from Östersund,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, to Røros, Norway, edging out

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.

finished in fourth place, while

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 A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

Oslo Airport Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atl ...

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)