Jinneal Nunaraq Uttak takes Nunavut Quest title 2nd year in a row
Igloolik musher clocks in at 40 hours, 53 minutes and 33 seconds
Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak is the winner of this year’s Nunavut Quest. He and his dog team are greeted April 23 by his support team and family members at the checkpoint during Day 2 of Nunavut Quest. (Photo by Shanshan Tian, special to Nunatsiaq News)
Jinneal Nunaraq Uttak has taken the Nunavut Quest title for the second year in a row.
Tom Naqitarvik, left, and Daniel Inuark pose April 25 during the Nunavut Quest closing ceremonies. Naqitarvik came in 6th place and Inuarak placed seventh. (Photo courtesy of Qikiqtani Inuit Association)
Qikiqtani Inuit Association released the official race results Friday in a news release.
Uttak, who led the Quest last year as a first-time racer, completed the race with an official time of 40 hours, 53 minutes, and 33 seconds. That’s just under one hour faster than his closest competitor, Joshua Qiliqti Ivalu, whose official time was 41 hours, 45 minutes and 35 seconds.
This year’s Nunavut Quest took mushers and their support teams approximately 500 kilometres from Pond Inlet to Igloolik. They departed Pond Inlet on April 15 and had a two-day rest on April 20 and 21 because of blizzard conditions.
The sun was shining April 23 as hundreds of people in Igloolik waited on the ice to cheer the arrival of the mushers.
Uttak started dogsledding in 2022, according to a biography posted on the QIA website. He’s a skilled butcher who enjoys spending time on the land.
Here is the complete list of mushers and their official times:
- Jinneal Nunaraq Uttak — 40 hours, 42 minutes, and 33 seconds
- Joshua Qiliqti Uvalu — 41 hours, 45 minutes, and 35 seconds
- Lee Inuarak — 42 hours, 55 minutes, 07 seconds
- Donovan Qaunaq — 43 hours, 34 minutes, 44 seconds
- Isaac Irngaut — 46 hours, 55 minutes, 05 seconds
- Tom Naqitarvik — 51 hours, 14 minutes, 58 seconds
- Daniel Inuarak — 51 hours, 51 minutes, 32 seconds
- Aiden Qaunaq — 57 hours, 49 minutes, 11 seconds
The prize for winning the Nunavut Quest is $20,000. Second place nets $15,000, while the third place finisher earns $10,000. The musher who comes in fourth wins $5,000, the fifth place finisher wins $2,500, and sixth-place earns $2,000.
Next year’s race is planned to run from Igloolik to Pond Inlet.
Mushers and their support teams are celebrated during the Nunavut Quest closing ceremony on April 25. (Photo courtesy of Qikiqtani Inuit Association)
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