| Competition: | 50th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race |
| Venue: | Iditarod Trail |
| Location: | Anchorage, Alaska to Nome, Alaska |
| Dates: | March 5–19, 2022 |
| Competitors: | 49 |
| Champion: | Brent Sass |
| Previous: | 2021 Iditarod |
| Next: | 2023 Iditarod |
The 2022 Iditarod was the 50th running of the annual dog sled race.[1] The competition began on March 5 with its ceremonial start in Anchorage. All mushers were required to be vaccinated for COVID-19.[2]
The race was won by Brent Sass, who finished on March 15 with a total race time of 8 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes, and 43 seconds.[3] His 11-dog team was blown off the main route on the approach to Nome due to high winds and low visibility, but Sass recovered to maintain his lead.[4] In second was Dallas Seavey, who was within 90 minutes of Sass.[5] Seavey finished after 8 days, 15 hours, 46 minutes, 51 seconds. By the end of the race, 12 mushers had withdrawn, half of them at the White Mountain checkpoint.[6] Hannah Lyrek was the first rookie to finish, in 19th place, in 10 days, 2 hours, 43 minutes, 12 seconds.
Apayauq Reitan became the first openly transgender woman to be a musher in an Iditarod.[7] Reitan finished in 37th place, the last to cross the finish line.[3] This was her second Iditarod. She participated in 2019 before she transitioned. She became the third person to participate in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest as a rookie in the same year.[8] [9]