Iditarod Icon Withdrawn From 1996 Race

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ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: Five-time Iditarod winner Rick Swenson was booted from the Anchorage-to-Nome race after a dog on his team died 12 hours into the 10-day event. Swenson, who has run 20 of the Iditarod's 24 races and never lost a dog, is the first musher affected by a regulation added this year. Nicknamed "the dead dog rule," the provision declares that mushers will be disqualified if any of their dogs expire on the 1,151-mile trail due to a preventable error. Swenson reacted to his expulsion by saying that the Iditarod had become a "circus" run by people who knew little about dog racing. "I have nothing to prove," Swenson told KTUU-TV in Anchorage, "There are other dog races in the world." According to Swenson, his 16-dog team didn't seem right after passing through knee-deep overflow - freezing slush -- while crossing a river. When he finally stopped, Swenson found Ariel, a three-year-old female, had fallen. He spent 15 minutes trying to revive her. While the cause of Ariel's death is still unkown, race officials determined that the death was preventable and unanimously decided to "withdraw" Swenson from the race. In a statement from race headquarters, race marshall Bobby Lee said that "the irony that Rick, who exemplifies the best in dog mushing, has been impacted by this new rule is almost beyond belief. I grieve with Rick and his family for their loss."