Yukon Quest winner to retire from long-distance racing

The day after winning this year's Yukon Quest, Whitehorse musher Hans Gatt says he will retire from long-distance sled-dog racing at the end of this season.

Gatt announced his upcoming retirement in a CBC Radio interview Tuesday morning, after he had finished the Yukon Quest Monday afternoon with a record time of nine days and 26 minutes.

Gatt, 51, said this year's Quest win was the hardest to achieve because of stiff competition from other mushers during the 1,600-kilometre race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse.

"There is a point where you realize that they are really hard on your body, and there's other things to do in life," he said.

"I just don't want to trash myself completely, you know, before I retire and I can't enjoy retirement anymore."

Gatt said he will take part in one more long-distance race this season: the 1,868-kilometre Iditarod, which starts March 6 in Alaska.

After that, he said he will keep his sled dogs and will continue to participate in shorter-distance races.

Monday's victory makes Gatt the second musher to win four Yukon Quests.

The other four-time Quest winner, Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, came in second place by arriving one hour after Gatt. In third place was Hugh Neff of Annie Lake, Yukon.