Robert Sørlie
Encyclopedia
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, is a two-time Iditarod champion Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
dog musher
Mushing
Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow or a rig on dry land...
and dog sled racer
Dogsled racing
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners...
from Hurdal
Hurdal
Hurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal....
. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew, Bjørnar Andersen
Bjørnar Andersen
Bjørnar Andersen , 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 his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
, he forms "Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the only non-America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, 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 (four times) and EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's longest dog race, Finnmarksløpet
Finnmarksløpet
Finnmarksløpet is the worlds northernmost sled dog race. The race starts on saturday of week 10 every year and goes across Finnmark in Norway. The race was first time run in 1981.- See also :* Iditarod* La Grande Odyssée...
(1995–1991, 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 Østersund, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, to Røros
Røros
is a town and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Other villages include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, edging out Bjørnar Andersen
Bjørnar Andersen
Bjørnar Andersen , 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 his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
by just one minute.
Iditarod
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
Bjørnar Andersen
Bjørnar Andersen , 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 his rookie outing.Andersen was born in 1978, and began competing...
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 firefighterFirefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
at Oslo Airport
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
.