Sean Underwood is no longer an understudy.
The Atlanta native will take the leading role in the Iditarod. Underwood had hoped to debut in the world-famous sled dog race next year. However, the 28-year old will compete this year following emergency surgery to his mentor and last-minute approval for serve as a replacement.
The approval came Tuesday with unanimous consent from the qualifying review board of the Iditarod Trail Committee. Underwood will replace four-time champion Jeff King, who underwent surgery for a perforate intestine Monday. He will be driving a team of dogs from King’s Husky Homestead kennel for the race that begins Saturday. He has worked for King as a handler since 2016, training and racing the team.
“Imagine that phone call with my mom, ‘Hey, by the way, I’m running the Iditarod in three days,’ ” Underwood told the Anchorage Daily News.
“This is an unbelievable accomplishment,” Jack Underwood, Sean’s father, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are so proud of our son Sean. Who he is as a person and his connection and commitment to the canine athletes is humbling. It's also admittedly emotional to see your son taking such an iconic athletic journey.”
Underwood grew up in Tucker, attended St. Pius High School and graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in economics. He went to Alaska in 2015 to work with his aunt, uncle and cousin commercial fishing for sockeye salmon on Kodiak Island. Two years later, his uncle and aunt put him in touch with their good friend, King, and Underwood was hired to be part of his crew.
“I got a job scooping poop for him, and I slowly got to working with the dogs and gained more and more responsibility every year,” Underwood told the Anchorage Daily News.
Now, he will compete in the 1,000-mile race.
Underwood had qualified for next year’s Iditarod after finishing seventh in qualifying race the Yukon Quest 300 in February. The debut is now sooner than expected.
“I definitely know that people with less experience have done the Iditarod,” Underwood told the newspaper. “So I definitely feel confident. I know how to take care of the dogs, I know how to feed the dogs and I’m running Jeff King’s team.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not stressed, anxious, overwhelmed and nervous.”
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