Mille Porsild with dogs Fenix and Viper at the Nome finish line.

Iditarod rookie Mille Porsild (bib #32) of Denmark won Rookie of the Year when she and her race team finished under the burled arch in Nome on Wednesday, March 18, at 1:43 p.m. Porsild is the first woman to win Rookie of the Year since 2007 and only the seventh in the race’s 48-year history. She becomes the rookie with the best time in 2020, finishing in 10 days, one hour, 43 minutes and in 15th place overall. Porsild started mushing in 1992 but this is her first Iditarod race. She has also completed 15 long-haul expeditions with her freight dogs, each lasting two-to-six months. She says she has slept more than 1,000 nights in a tent on dog sled expeditions. The Rookie of the Year distinction comes with an additional cash prize of $2,000 on top of Porsild’s winnings as one of the top 20 finishers in the race. The finishers banquet will be held at a later date.