24 Facts About Leonhard Seppala

Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala was a Norwegian-Kven-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome, and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics.

Leonhard Seppala was born in Lyngen Municipality in Troms county, Northern Norway.

Leonhard Seppala was the eldest child of Isak Isaksen Seppala and Anne Henrikke Henriksdatter.

Leonhard Seppala initially followed in his father's footsteps as both a blacksmith and a fisherman.

Leonhard Seppala enjoyed the task from his first run, which he recalled clearly for the rest of his life.

Leonhard Seppala expressed pleasure in the rhythmic patter of the dogs' feet and the feeling of the sled gliding along the snow.

Leonhard Seppala kept his dogs in form during the summer by having them pull a cart on wheels instead of a sled.

In 1914, Leonhard Seppala inherited his first team of sled dogs by chance.

Leonhard Seppala made the decision to compete in his first race, the 1914 All Alaska Sweepstakes, at the last minute.

Indeed, when the whiteout conditions suddenly lifted, Leonhard Seppala found that he and his team were at the bottom of a hill, racing towards the cliffs along the sea.

Leonhard Seppala felt he had abused the dogs' loyalty by putting them in danger of death and injury, and withdrew from the race in shame.

Leonhard Seppala nursed them back to health for most of the remainder of that year; they were not ready to train again until autumn.

Leonhard Seppala's racing career took off the following year, at the 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes.

Leonhard Seppala went on to win the race the following two years, as well, at which point the All Alaska Sweepstakes was suspended until 1983.

The whole trail was 674 miles from Nenana to Nome, and Leonhard Seppala was initially selected to cover the more than 400 miles from Nome to Nulato and back.

Leonhard Seppala had taken the shortcut across the Sound several times in his career; a less-experienced musher was likelier to lose not only his life and the lives of his dogs, but the urgently needed serum.

Leonhard Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail and having trouble with his dogs, but did not intend to stop and be delayed.

Leonhard Seppala had to decide whether to risk Norton Sound in high winds in the dark, when he could not see or hear potential warning signs from the ice.

Leonhard Seppala's tour ended in January 1927 with the dogsled race at Poland Spring, Maine, where he accepted the challenge to race against Arthur Walden, founder of the New England Sled Dog Club and owner of the famous lead dog, "Chinook".

Leonhard Seppala bred Togo, and the dog's descendants contributed to the "Seppala Siberian Sleddog", a sought after sled dog line, as well as mainstream show-stock Siberian Husky lines bred in New England and eventually elsewhere.

In 1928, Leonhard Seppala moved his permanent home to near Fairbanks, Alaska.

Sled dog racing was a demonstration event at the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games in 1932, where Leonhard Seppala earned a silver in the event.

In 1961, Leonhard Seppala revisited Fairbanks and other places in Alaska at the invitation of American journalist Lowell Thomas, enjoying a warm reception from the Alaskan people.

Leonhard Seppala's ashes were scattered in the 1966 Iditarod as part of Alaska Centennial celebrations.